Zeolite-Stabilized Di- and Tetranuclear Molybdenum Sulfide Clusters Form Stable Catalytic Hydrogenation Sites

Abstract

Supercages of faujasite (FAU)-type zeolites serve as a robust scaffold for stabilizing dinuclear (Mo2S4) and tetranuclear (Mo4S4) molybdenum sulfide clusters. The FAU-encaged Mo4S4 clusters have a distorted cubane structure similar to the FeMo-cofactor in nitrogenase. Both clusters possess unpaired electrons on Mo atoms. Additionally, they show identical catalytic activity per sulfide cluster. Their catalytic activity is stable (>150 h) for ethene hydrogenation, while layered MoS2 structures deactivate significantly under the same reaction conditions.