The acidity at the external surface of protonic zeolites, because of the finite size of crystallites, has been questioned strongly for decades. We used density functional theory (DFT) calculations to propose atomistic models for the external surface of zeolite Beta, which show that bridging Si−(OH)−Al groups still exist at the pore mouth in what we call open micropores (pores that emerge at the external surface). However, at the outermost surface (no emerging micropores), water molecules adsorbed on Al atoms [Al−(H2O)] prevail. The local structure of those surface Al atoms depends on the temperature and water partial pressure. A detailed vibrational study of adsorbed CO helps in the assignment of the different sites and reveals a generalized vibrational Stark effect. Proton‐transfer ability was quantified by the adsorption of isobutene. Carbenium ions appear to be stabilized on the bridging Si−(OH)−Al groups located on the open micropores of the external surface in a similar way as in the bulk of zeolite Beta. By contrast, the outermost surface is not able to stabilize carbenium ions and promotes the existence of alkoxides. This work brings new atomic‐scale insights into the concept of pore‐mouth catalysis and provides the molecular architecture of potential active sites located in open micropores.

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Adding a nonlocal operator to the true Hamiltonian is used to define an Ž . adiabatic coupling between a noninteracting e.g., Kohn᎐Sham reference system and the real one. By using the Hellmann᎐Feynman theorem, it is shown that when the operator Ž . added is shifting upward the virtual noninteracting levels the correlation energy is related to the number of electrons displaced into the virtual levels. To construct approximations, calculations were performed for the uniform electron gas. The expectation that atomic systems would behave locally like a uniform electron gas with the unoccupied levels shifted up by a constant close to the atomic excitation energies is not confirmed by exploratory calculations on atoms. Some perturbation theory expressions are also given and suggest an approach to self-interaction free-correlation energy functionals.

The skeletal isomerization of alkenes catalyzed by zeolites involves secondary and tertiary carbenium ions for which respective reactivity cannot be easily assessed by standard theoretical approaches. Thanks to ab initio molecular dynamics, starting from 4-methyl-hex-1-ene (a monobranched C7 alkene), we identify and compare two mechanistic routes for skeletal isomerization: (i) a type B isomerization transforming a secondary carbenium into a tertiary carbenium (conventional route), and (ii) a two-step route involving an intramolecular 1,3 hydride-shift producing a tertiary carbenium, followed by a type B isomerization between two tertiary carbenium ions. We find that, in the case of the secondary cation, the relevant species from a kinetic point of view is the corresponding π-complex. The transition states found for type B isomerization reactions are edge-protonated cyclopropanes (edge-PCP) that exhibit similar stabilities and structures. The transition state for the 1,3-hydride shift is an edge-type PCP with one elongated C–C bond that is more stable than the one found for type B isomerization. From this analysis, we deduce relevant kinetic constants and quantify the respective contribution of both pathways to the global reaction rate. Although the secondary carbenium ions are poorly stable species, we show that they can hold a significant part of the reaction flux. Finally, we discuss, in detail, our kinetic and mechanistic insights with previous kinetic modeling data reported in the literature.

Zeolite-catalyzed alkene cracking is key to optimize the size of hydrocarbons. The nature and stability of intermediates and transition states (TS) are, however, still debated. We combine transition path sampling and blue moon ensemble density functional theory simulations to unravel the behavior of C 7 alkenes in CHA zeolite. Free energy profiles are determined, linking p-complexes, alkoxides and carbenium ions, for B 1 (secondary to tertiary) and B 2 (tertiary to secondary) b-scissions. B 1 is found to be easier than B 2. The TS for B 1 occurs at the breaking of the CÀC bond, while for B 2 it is the proton transfer from propenium to the zeolite. We highlight the dynamic behaviors of the various intermediates along both pathways, which reduce activation energies with respect to those previously evaluated by static approaches. We finally revisit the ranking of isomerization and cracking rate constants, which are crucial for future kinetic studies. Scheme 1. b-scission mechanisms: a) type B 1 involving secondary 4,4dimethyl-penten-2-ium to tertiary tert-butylium cation. b) type B 2 involving tertiary 2,4-dimethyl-penten-2-ium to secondary propenium cation.

Identifying the location of the active sites in a zeolite is a current challenge, impeding the design of optimal catalysts. In this work, we identify the location of the most active sites of 1-ethylcyclohexene isomerization in the EUO framework (10 MR channels, 12 MR side pockets), thanks to DFT calculations corroborated by experiments. Skeletal isomerization of cycloalkenes is a crucial industrial reaction for the bifunctional isomerization of ethylbenzene. Ethylcyclohexene is protonated by framework protons into cyclic carbenium ions, which undergo ring contraction-expansion reactions through protonated cyclopropane (PCP) like transition states. Ab initio calculations clearly show that the acid sites located at the intersection between the channel and the pocket stabilize much less the cyclic carbenium ions involved in the reaction than 12 MR pockets and 10 MR channel sites, due to stronger dispersion stabilizing interactions. This computational finding is fully confirmed experimentally by the comparison of the catalytic performances of the H-EU-1 and H-ZSM-50 zeolites in ethylcyclohexane hydroisomerization. Both zeolites possess the EUO structure, but with different location of the acid sites. The ratio in turnover frequencies is quantitatively rendered by the DFT calculated free energy profiles. Diffusion measurements reveal similar ethylcyclohexane diffusion times for the two zeolites, supporting that the difference in activity is primarily driven by the location of the active sites.

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The transformation of cycloalkanes is a key‐reaction in refining and petrochemistry. Herein, we unravel the mechanism and the kinetics of the transformation of ethylcyclohexane, considering a bifunctional catalyst composed of platinum and of the EU‐1 zeolite, by experiments, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and DFT‐based microkinetic modeling. The simulated mechanisms involve carbenium intermediates. DFT shows the central kinetic role of the π‐complexes corresponding to secondary carbenium ions. Cycle contractions and expansions appear to be rate‐limiting. The DFT‐based microkinetic model includes a limited number of kinetic parameters optimized by regression with respect to the experimental data. The agreement with experimental results is very good, showing that the mechanisms proposed, the nature of the intermediates, and the values of the computed rate constants, are relevant. The reaction starts by the cycle contraction of 1‐ethylcyclohexene, then shifts to a second sequence of cycle expansion‐contraction reactions by intercalated methyl‐shifts.