Interaction of NH3 with Cu-SSZ-13 Catalyst: A Complementary FTIR, XANES, and XES Study

In the typical NH3–SCR temperature range (100–500 °C), ammonia is one of the main adsorbed species on acidic sites of Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst. Therefore, the study of adsorbed ammonia at high temperature is a key step for the understanding of its role in the NH3–SCR catalytic cycle. We employed different spectroscopic techniques to investigate the nature of the different complexes occurring upon NH3 interaction. In particular, FTIR spectroscopy revealed the formation of different NH3 species, that is, (i) NH3 bonded to copper centers, (ii) NH3 bonded to Bronsted sites, and (iii) NH4+·nNH3 associations. XANES and XES spectroscopy allowed us to get an insight into the geometry and electronic structure of Cu centers upon NH3 adsorption, revealing for the first time in Cu-SSZ-13 the presence of linear Cu+ species in Ofw–Cu–NH3 or H3N–Cu–NH3 configuration.