ELECTROCHEMISTRY OF ZEOLITE NAY-ENCAPSULATED RHODIUM(III) PHTHALOCYANINE

Electrochemistry has proven to be a very valuable ancillary technique to characterize chemically-modified zeolites and especially intrazeoli tic ship-in-a-bottle complexes. In this study, the cyclic voltammogram s for zeolite RhNaY- and NaY-encapsulated rhodium phthalocyanine (RhPc ) are reported. Site isolation of the metal complexes in the NaY super cages precludes the dimerization observed in solution and allows clear observation of the Rh(III)Pc/Rh(II)Pc couple at room temperature. The observed redox activity is interpreted as arising from electron trans fer to complexes trapped in the outermost supercages or subsurface zon es. The very low electroactivity of such confined complexes (less than 1% of the total loading) and the nature of the electroactive sites ar e discussed.