Synchrotron X-ray microtomography, X-ray absorption near edge structure, extended X-ray absorption fine structure, and voxel imaging of a cobalt–zeolite-Y complex

Cobalt–zeolite-Y (Co-Y), was investigated utilizing synchrotron X-ray microtomography, EXAFS, and XANES measurements. X-ray microtomography showed an inhomogeneous distribution of cobalt ions with cobalt-rich domains of 50 μm diameter. XANES measurements fixed the oxidation state of the cobalt ion to be +2.35. EXAFS measurements revealed the cobalt–oxygen bond distance to be 1.7 Å. The cobalt–cobalt bond distance was fixed at 2.8 Å. X-ray microtomography showed cobalt-rich regions made up 16.81% of the cobalt–zeolite complex. This information was used to characterize the transition metal–zeolite complex.