Highly selective synthesis of large aromatic molecules with nano-zeolite: beyond the shape selectivity effect

Nano ZSM-12 zeolite, with a huge external surface area and lower ratio of Bronsted to Lewis acids, exhibited high activity and selectivity for the direct transformation of methanol into multi-methylbenzenes with molecule sizes that were larger than the 1-D pore of ZSM-12, via the production of xylene inside the pore and complete external surface methylation.