Beyond trial and error for zeolite catalysts

Zeolites are crystalline aluminosilicates with a regular network of molecular-scale channels and/or cages (0.3 to 2.0 nm). They are widely used as heterogeneous catalysts in oil refining and the petrochemical and chemical industries ( 1 , 2 ). Typically, the most suitable zeolite catalyst for a given reaction is found by trial and error, requiring time-consuming experiments and expensive screening of many potential candidates. On page 1051 of this issue, Gallego et al. ( 3 ) show that by designing zeolites that mimic reaction transition states, expensive trial-and-error searches can be avoided.