Abstract
Zirconium monohydride bonded to the framework oxygen of MCM-41 surface was prepared by the reaction of tetraneopentyl zirconium with MCM-41 surface hydroxyl groups, followed by the hydrogenolysis of the resulted product. The surface hydride was characterized by using infrared spectroscopy, solid-state NMR, elemental analysis, gas-phase chromatography and chemical probing reaction. It was shown that this surface species is stable below 150 degreesC and can catalytically crack alkanes into methane and ethane at 100 degreesC.