1,1-Diphenylethylene adsorbed onto acid zeolites: Nature of the blue (605-nm) species

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(97)00140-3

Diffuse reflectance spectra of HY (Si/Al 15) and Hβ (Si/Al 13) zeolites after adsorption of 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE) show an intense 605-nm absorption band characteristic of an elusive blue species observed a long time ago for DPE-silica-alumina solids. This blue species was wrongly attributed to the corresponding DPE^+. radical cation or a complex of DPE with Lewis sites of these solids. In our case, EPR spectra of DPE samples adsorbed on HY and Hβ zeolites indicate that the spin population of these samples is too low (<10¹⁵ spin · g^-1) to contain significant amounts of any paramagnetic species. In addition, IR spectra of the organic material incorporated within HY and Hβ is very similar to those of some DPE dimers. Product studies after solid-liquid extraction of zeolites and silica-alumina in which DPE has been adsorbed also show the formation of the corresponding dimers derived from the acid-catalyzed mechanism. Variable amounts of oxidation products are also formed when the adsorption is carried out in the open air. In addition, ¹³C-NMR spectra in solution of blue samples generated by treatment of DPE with sulfuric acid in dimethyl sulfate also indicate the presence of the same dimer distribution and the absence of detectable low-field signals that could be attributed to any carbenium ion. With these data, it is clear that in spite of the intense color developed in these samples, the bulk of the organic material adsorbed on the zeolites does not correspond to any intermediate, but to dimers. Semiempirical ROHF calculations using the ZINDO program provide some support to the possibility that the blue color could be due to 1,1,3,3-tetraphenyl-1-butylium cation, the reaction intermediate involved in the DPE dimerization mechanism.