Chlorobenzene was reacted with NO2, in the initially acid-free zeolite NaZSM-5, to yield para-chloronitrobenzene exclusively. The precursors were loaded sequentially into self-supporting pellets of the zeolite, contained within a stainless steel cell, from the gas phase. The reaction proceeds spontaneously at room temperature. It is, however, very temperature dependent and effectively ceases at zero degrees Celsius. The reaction was monitored in situ using FT-IR. The active nitrating agent is formed from the partial electron donation by the NO2 to the Na+ cations present in the zeolite lattice. Under the reaction conditions, chlorobenzene is not readily mobile through the pore system; thus, only the molecules adsorbed near a cation site react to form para-chloronitrobenzene.
HIGH PRESSURE IN SITU FT-IR STUDY OF CO HYDROGENATION OVER Rh/SiO2CATALYST