A comparative analysis of the protonated and copper exchanged mordenites with SiO_{2/Al_{2O_{3 molar ratio equal to 10

Ion-exchange zeolites are the starting materials for the synthesis of nanocomposites. Moreover, they are of great interest in themselves, because cations in zeolites, and especially cations of transition metals, are the active catalytic sites. Copper-exchange zeolites are known as very effective deNOx catalysts. Although these compounds have been extensively studied in the last decade, the localisation of the copper ions in the zeolite matrix and their state are not fully determined. Here, we report on the results of our complementary study by various experimental methods, such as thermal analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and theoretical density functional calculations of protonated and copper-exchanged mordenites with the molar SiO2/Al2O3 ratio equal to 10.