Luminescence as a Probe of Rare Earth Ions in Zeolites

Abstract

The purpose of this review is threefold. The first area to be discussed is the use of luminescence methods to probe catalysts. The last review of this area appeared in this journal in 1975 by Pott and Stork [1], and several new developments concerning analytical procedures, characterization methods, and applications have been made since then. Second, a summary of the luminescence properties of rare earth oxides, hydroxides, and salt complexes has been compiled and is presented so that clear distinctions can be seen between these complexes and so that there is an available source of electronic transitions and assignments that are useful in catalysis studies. The third part of the review includes recent investigations of rare earth(III)-exchanged zeolites. The use of luminescence methods to probe coordination environments, changes due to thermal and chemical treatments, oxidation state changes, and rare earth-containing fluid catalytic cracking catalysts are discussed.