Recent success in preparing carbonyl complexes of palladium in the cages of sodium zeolite-Y using a "ship-in-a-bottle" technique potentially offers new catalytic processes exploiting both geometric and electronic properties of the zeolite. In this work, palladium catalysts on zeolite-Y are prepared, including some that are highly dispersed and some containing palladium clusters. These are characterized using, among other techniques, extend X-ray absorption fine structure, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reaction, and temperature-programmed desorption. The exchangeability of carbon monoxide in gaseous, adsorbed, and ligand forms is determined using infrared spectroscopy and temperature-programmed isotope exchange. Catalytic activity for methanol synthesis, neopentance conversion, and related reactions are measured. The new class of catalysts investigated in this work is potentially revolutionary. It should offer types of selectivity not available with catalysts presently in use for a number of industrial processes. At present, it is difficult to predict how the activities of these new systems compare to those of older catalysts, but this effort should go a long way toward answering that.
