One-Pot Synthesis of Ce-SSZ-39 Zeolite with Performance in the NH₃-SCR Reaction

Cu-SSZ-39 zeolite with 8-membered rings is regarded as a very promising catalyst in the NH₃-SCR reaction, but its hydrothermal stability still remains to be improved. One of the solutions to promote hydrothermal stability is the insertion of rare earth elements in the product. Nevertheless, normal ion exchange of rare earth elements limits their contents in the zeolite product due to their large hydrated ionic radius and alkaline environment under hydrothermal conditions. Herein, we for the first time present a new method for the one-pot synthesis of Ce-SSZ-39 zeolite under solvent-free conditions. The key to success is the use of Ce-FAU zeolite as a precursor. The obtained product shows good crystallinity, sheet-like morphology, large BET surface area, and 4-coordinated Al species. Detailed investigations illustrate that Ce species in the Cu/Ce-SSZ-39 zeolite micropore can prevent the dealumination and thus formation of CuAlO species during hydrothermal aging at 850 °C for 16 h, giving the excellent hydrothermal stability and thus showing the excellent catalytic performance in the NH₃-SCR reaction. One-pot synthesis of Ce-SSZ-39 zeolite with excellent catalytic performance might open a new door for developing very efficient selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts in near future.