Iron-containing zeolites play an important role in the selective oxidation of methane to oxygenates by nitrous oxide. A solid-state ion exchange method is adopted to prepare Fe-MOR zeolite catalysts with different amounts of extra-framework Al. EPR spectra and UV–vis spectra show that the percentage of iron ions in tetrahedral or octahedral coordination increases while those of clustered Fe species decrease by the addition of extra-framework Al species. Nitrous oxide titration reveals that more active Fe centers are formed, which promote the nitrous oxide consumption. The number of active centers in the catalyst with the introduction of extra-framework Al is about four times that of the catalyst without the addition of extra-framework Al. Due to this, there is an increase in the methane conversion, total selectivity and yield of oxygenates.
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