UNEXPECTEDLY LOW TRANSLATIONAL MOBILITY OF METHANE AND TETRAFLUOROMETHANE IN THE LARGE-PORE MOLECULAR-SIEVE VPI-5

Molecular diffusion of methane and tetrafluoromethane in the microporous material VPI-5 was studied by pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG NMR) and NMR exchange experiments. The translational mobility of both molecules in VPI-5 was found to be at least two orders of magnitude smaller than in ZSM-5. This is surprising since the channels in VPI-5 are about two times as wide as those in ZSM-5. The surprisingly small translational mobility in VPI-5 could be caused by a more complete stabilization effect or by single-file diffusion. The intracrystalline mean life time of methane in VPI-5 directly measured in the NMR tracer exchange experiments was found to be in satisfactory agreement with the value estimated on the basis of the PFG NMR data on translational mobility for ordinary intracrystalline diffusion. It must be ruled out, therefore, that molecular transportation over length scales of the order of the crystallite dimensions is controlled by single-file diffusion.