Cascade Reactions in Tunable Lamellar Micro- and Mesopores for C=C Bond Coupling and Hydrocarbon Synthesis.

Two-dimensional MFI zeolite nanosheets contain Brønsted acid sites partially confined at the intercept between micro- and mesopores. These acid sites exhibit exceptional reactivities and stabilities for C=C bond coupling and ring-closure reactions that transform light aldehydes to aromatics. These sites are much more effective than those confined within the micropores of MFI crystallites and those unconfined on H4 SiW12 O40 clusters or mesoporous aluminosilicate Al-MCM-41. The partially confined site environment solvates and stabilizes the transition states of the kinetically relevant steps during aromatization.