Revealing Cu2+-localized topological structures in zeolite for effective purification of ultra-low-concentration methyl mercaptan

•Ultra-low-concentration methyl mercaptan is removed by zeolites.•Cu exchanged zeolite shows the best performance among different transition metals.•ZSM-5 is the best carrier for Cu among different zeolites.•Short-chain topological structures for Cu2+ localizations have better performances.•The better performance is derived from confinement effect.