Zeolite-Stabilized Di- and Tetranuclear Molybdenum Sulfide Clusters Form Stable Catalytic Hydrogenation Sites.

Supercages of faujasite (FAU)-type zeolites serve as a robust scaffold for stabilizing dinuclear (Mo2 S4 ) and tetranuclear (Mo4 S4 ) molybdenum sulfide clusters. The FAU-encaged Mo4 S4 clusters have a distorted cubane structure similar to the FeMo-cofactor in nitrogenase. Both clusters possess unpaired electrons on Mo atoms. Additionally, they show identical catalytic activity per sulfide cluster. Their catalytic activity is stable (>150 h) for ethene hydrogenation, while layered MoS2 structures deactivate significantly under the same reaction conditions.