Exploring meso-/microporous composite molecular sieves with core-shell structures

A series of core–shell‐structured composite molecular sieves comprising zeolite single crystals (i.e., ZSM‐5) as a core and ordered mesoporous silica as a shell were synthesized by means of a surfactant‐directed sol–gel process in basic medium by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a template and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as silica precursor. Through this coating method, uniform mesoporous silica shells closely grow around the anisotropic zeolite single crystals, the shell thickness of which can easily be tuned in the range of 15–100 nm by changing the ratio of TEOS/zeolite. The obtained composite molecular sieves have compact meso‐/micropore junctions that form a hierarchical pore structure from ordered mesopore channels (2.4–3.0 nm in diameter) to zeolite micropores (≈0.51 nm). The short‐time kinetic diffusion efficiency of benzene molecules within pristine ZSM‐5 (≈7.88×10^?19 m² s^?1) is almost retainable after covering with 75 nm‐thick mesoporous silica shells (≈7.25×10^?19 m² s^?1), which reflects the greatly opened junctions between closely connected mesopores (shell) and micropores (core). The core–shell composite shows greatly enhanced adsorption capacity (≈1.35 mmol g^?1) for large molecules such as 1,3,5‐triisopropylbenzene relative to that of pristine ZSM‐5 (≈0.4 mmol g^?1) owing to the mesoporous silica shells. When Al species are introduced during the coating process, the core–shell composite molecular sieves demonstrate a graded acidity distribution from weak acidity of mesopores (predominant Lewis acid sites) to accessible strong acidity of zeolite cores (Lewis and Brønsted acid sites). The probe catalytic cracking reaction of n‐dodecane shows the superiority of the unique core–shell structure over pristine ZSM‐5. Insight into the core–shell composite structure with hierarchical pore and graded acidity distribution show great potential for petroleum catalytic processes.     

Controlled Synthesis of N‐Doped Carbon Nanospheres with Tailored Mesopores through Self‐Assembly of Colloidal Silica

Limited strategies have been established to prepare monodisperse mesoporous carbon nanospheres (MCNs) with tailored pore sizes. In this work, a method is reported to synthesize MCNs by combining polymerization of aniline with co‐assembly of colloidal silica nanoparticles. The controlled self‐assembly behavior of colloidal silica enables the formation of uniform composite nanospheres and convenient modulation over mesopores. After carbonization and removal of sacrificial templates, the resultant MCNs possess tunable mesopores (7–42 nm) and spherical diameters (90–300 nm), as well as high surface area (785–1117 m² g^?1), large pore volume (1.46–2.01 cm³ g^?1) and abundant nitrogen moieties (5.54–8.73 at %). When serving as metal‐free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), MCNs with an optimum pore size of 22 nm, compared to those with 7 and 42 nm, exhibit the best ORR performance in alkaline medium.     

Advanced Catalytic Performance of Au–Pt Double‐Walled Nanotubes and Their Fabrication through Galvanic Replacement Reaction

Bimetallic tubular nanostructures have been the focus of intensive research as they have very interesting potential applications in various fields including catalysis and electronics. In this paper, we demonstrate a facile method for the fabrication of Au–Pt double‐walled nanotubes (Au–Pt DWNTs). The DWNTs are fabricated through the galvanic displacement reaction between Ag nanowires and various metal ions, and the Au–Pt DWNT catalysts exhibit high active catalytic performances toward both methanol electro‐oxidation and 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) reduction. First, they have a high electrochemically active surface area of 61.66 m² g^?1, which is close to the value of commercial Pt/C catalysts (64.76 m² g^?1), and the peak current density of Au–Pt DWNTs in methanol oxidation is recorded as 138.25 mA mg^?1, whereas those of Pt nanotubes, Au/Pt nanotubes (simple mixture), and commercial Pt/C are 24.12, 40.95, and120.65 mA mg^?1, respectively. The Au–Pt DWNTs show a markedly enhanced electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation compared with the other three catalysts. They also show an excellent catalytic performance in comparison with common Au nanotubes for 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) reduction. The attractive performance exhibited by these prepared Au–Pt DWNTs can be attributed to their unique structures, which make them promising candidates as high‐performance catalysts.     

3D Hexagonal Mesoporous Silica and Its Organic Functionalization for High CO2 Uptake

Highly ordered 3D‐hexagonal mesoporous silica HMS‐3 and its vinyl‐ and 3‐chloropropyl‐functionalized analogues HMS‐4 and ‐5, respectively, are synthesized under strongly alkaline conditions at 277 K. Tetraethyl orthosilicate, vinyltrimethoxysilane, and 3‐chloropropyltrimethoxysilane are used as silica sources, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the structure‐directing agent. The 3D‐hexagonal pore structures of HMS‐3, 4‐, and ‐5 were confirmed by powder XRD and high‐resolution TEM studies. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas of these materials are 1353, 1211, and 603 m² g^?1 for HMS‐3, ‐4, and ‐5, respectively. Among these materials, vinyl‐functionalized mesoporous material HMS‐4 adsorbs the highest CO₂ (5.5 mmol g^?1, 24.3 wt %) under 3 bar pressure at 273 K. The 3D‐hexagonal pore openings, very high surface area, and cagelike mesopores as well as organic functionalization could be responsible for very high CO₂ uptakes of these materials compared to other related mesoporous silica‐based materials.     

Surface Plasmon Resonance‐Enhanced Visible‐NIR‐Driven Photocatalytic and Photothermal Catalytic Performance by Ag/Mesoporous Black TiO2 Nanotube Heterojunctions

Ag/mesoporous black TiO₂ nanotubes heterojunctions (Ag‐MBTHs) were fabricated through a surface hydrogenation, wet‐impregnation and photoreduction strategy. The as‐prepared Ag‐MBTHs possess a relatively high specific surface area of ≈85 m² g^?1 and an average pore size of ≈13.2 nm. The Ag‐MBTHs with a narrow band gap of ≈2.63 eV extend the photoresponse from UV to the visible‐light and near‐infrared (NIR) region. They exhibit excellent visible‐NIR‐driven photothermal catalytic and photocatalytic performance for complete conversion of nitro aromatic compounds (100 %) and mineralization of highly toxic phenol (100 %). The enhancement can be attributed to the mesoporous hollow structures increasing the light multi‐refraction, the Ti³⁺ in frameworks and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles favoring light‐harvesting and spatial separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which is confirmed by transient fluorescence. The fabrication of this SPR‐enhanced visible‐NIR‐driven Ag‐MBTHs catalyst may provide new insights for designing other high‐performance heterojunctions as photocatalytic and photothermal catalytic nanomaterials.     

Facile Fabrication of Well‐Dispersed Pt Nanoparticles in Mesoporous Silica with Large Open Spaces and Their Catalytic Applications

In this paper, a facile strategy is reported for the preparation of well‐dispersed Pt nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous silica (Pt@OMS) by using a hybrid mesoporous phenolic resin‐silica nanocomposite as the parent material. The phenolic resin polymer is proposed herein to be the key in preventing the aggregation of Pt nanoparticles during their formation process and making contributions both to enhance the surface area and enlarge the pore size of the support. The Pt@OMS proves to be a highly active and stable catalyst for both gas‐phase oxidation of CO and liquid‐phase hydrogenation of 4‐nitrophenol. This work might open new avenues for the preparation of noble metal nanoparticles in mesoporous silica with unique structures for catalytic applications.     

Control of Drug Release through the In Situ Assembly of Stimuli‐Responsive Ordered Mesoporous Silica with Magnetic Particles

A site‐selective controlled delivery system for controlled drug release is fabricated through the in situ assembly of stimuli‐responsive ordered SBA‐15 and magnetic particles. This approach is based on the formation of ordered mesoporous silica with magnetic particles formed from Fe(CO)₅ via the surfactant‐template sol‐gel method and control of transport through polymerization of N‐isopropyl acrylamide inside the pores. Hydrophobic Fe(CO)₅ acts as a swelling agent as well as being the source of the magnetic particles. The obtained system demonstrates a high pore diameter (7.1 nm) and pore volume (0.41 cm³ g^?1), which improves drug storage for relatively large molecules. Controlled drug release through the porous network is demonstrated by measuring the uptake and release of ibuprofen (IBU). The delivery system displays a high IBU storage capacity of 71.5 wt %, which is almost twice as large as the highest value based on SBA‐15 ever reported. In vitro testing of IBU loading and release exhibits a pronounced transition at around 32 °C, indicating a typical thermosensitive controlled release.     

A New Synthetic Route to Microporous Silica with Well‐Defined Pores by Replication of a Metal–Organic Framework

Microporous amorphous hydrophobic silica materials with well‐defined pores were synthesized by replication of the metal–organic framework (MOF) [Cu₃(1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxylate)₂] (HKUST‐1). The silica replicas were obtained by using tetramethoxysilane or tetraethoxysilane as silica precursors and have a micro–meso binary pore system. The BET surface area, the micropore volume, and the mesopore volume of the silica replica, obtained by means of hydrothermal treatment at 423 K with tetraethoxysilane, are 620 m²g^?1, 0.18 mL g^?1, and 0.55 mL g^?1, respectively. Interestingly, the silica has micropores with a pore size of 0.55 nm that corresponds to the pore‐wall thickness of the template MOF. The silica replica is hydrophobic, as confirmed by adsorption analyses, although the replica has a certain amount of silanol groups. This hydrophobicity is due to the unique condensation environment of the silica precursors in the template MOF.     

Three‐Dimensional Ultralarge‐Pore Ia3d Mesoporous Silica with Various Pore Diameters and Their Application in Biomolecule Immobilization

Highly ordered mesoporous three‐dimensional Ia3d silica (KIT‐6) with different pore diameters has been synthesized by using pluronic P123 as surfactant template and n‐butanol as cosolvent at different synthesis temperatures in a highly acidic medium. The materials were characterized by XRD and N₂ adsorption. The synthesis temperature plays a significant role in controlling the pore diameter, surface area, and pore volume of the materials. The material prepared at 150 °C, KIT‐6‐150, has a large pore diameter (11.3 nm) and a high specific pore volume (1.53 cm³ g^?1). We also demonstrate immobilization of lysozyme, which is a stable and hard protein, on KIT‐6 materials with different pore diameters. The amount of lysozyme adsorbed on large‐pore KIT‐6 is extremely large (57.2 μmol g^?1) and is much higher than that observed for mesoporous silicas MCM‐41, SBA‐15, and KIT‐5, mesoporous carbons, and carbon nanocages. The effect of various parameters such as buffer concentration, adsorption temperature, concentration of the lysozyme, and the textural parameter of the adsorbent on the lysozyme adsorption capacity of KIT‐6 was studied. The amount adsorbed mainly depends on solution pH, ionic strength, adsorption temperature, and pore volume and pore diameter of the adsorbent. The mechanism of adsorption on KIT‐6 under different adsorption conditions is discussed. In addition, the structural stability of lysozyme molecules and the KIT‐6 adsorbent before and after adsorption were investigated by XRD, nitrogen adsorption, and FTIR spectroscopy.     

Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanosheets with Size‐Defined Mesopores as Highly Efficient Metal‐Free Catalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Nitrogen‐doped carbon nanosheets (NDCN) with size‐defined mesopores are reported as highly efficient metal‐free catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A uniform and tunable mesoporous structure of NDCN is prepared using a templating approach. Such controlled mesoporous structure in the NDCN exerts an essential influence on the electrocatalytic performance in both alkaline and acidic media for the ORR. The NDCN catalyst with a pore diameter of 22 nm exhibits a more positive ORR onset potential than that of Pt/C (?0.01 V vs. ?0.02 V) and a high diffusion‐limited current approaching that of Pt/C (5.45 vs. 5.78 mA cm^?2) in alkaline medium. Moreover, the catalyst shows pronounced electrocatalytic activity and long‐term stability towards the ORR under acidic conditions. The unique planar mesoporous shells of the NDCN provide exposed highly electroactive and stable catalytic sites, which boost the electrocatalytic activity of metal‐free NDCN catalyst.     

Kinetically Controlled Assembly of Nitrogen‐Doped Invaginated Carbon Nanospheres with Tunable Mesopores

Mesoporous hollow carbon nanospheres (MHCS) have been extensively studied owning to their unique structural features and diverse potential applications. A surfactant‐free self‐assembly approach between resorcinol/formaldehyde and silicon alkoxide has emerged as an important strategy to prepare MHCS. Extending such a strategy to other substituted phenols to produce heterogeneous‐atom‐doped MHCS remains a challenge due to the very different polymerization kinetics of various resins. Herein, we report an ethylenediamine‐assisted strategy to control the cooperative self‐assembly between a 3‐aminophenol/formaldehyde resin and silica templates. Nitrogen‐doped mesoporous invaginated carbon nanospheres (N‐MICS) with an N content of 6.18 at %, high specific surface areas (up to 1118 m² g^?1), large pore volumes (2.47 cm³ g^?1), and tunable mesopores (3.7–11.1 nm) have been prepared. When used as electrical double‐layer supercapacitors, N‐MICS show a high capacitance of 261 F g^?1, an outstanding cycling stability (≈94 % capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles), and a good rate performance.     

Synthesis of Ti‐MCM‐41 directly from silatrane and titanium glycolate and its catalytic activity1

Titanium is successfully incorporated in hexagonal mesoporous silica to form Ti‐MCM41 at low temperature. Silatrane and titanium glycolate synthesized from the oxide one‐pot synthesis process are used as the precursors. Using the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a template, the resulting meso‐structure mimics the liquid‐crystal phase. The percentage of titanium loading is varied in the range 1–35%. The temperatures used in the preparation are 60 °C and 80 °C. After heat treatment, very high surface area mesoporous silica was obtained and characterized using diffuse reflectance UV (DRUV) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, X‐ray fluorescence, energy dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). At 35% titanium, the titanium atom is also in the framework showing the pattern of hexagonal mesostructure, as shown by DRUV, XRD and TEM results. The surface area is extraordinarily high, up to more than 2300 m² g^?1, and the pore volume is as high as 1.3 cm³ g^?1 for a titanium loading range of 1–5%. Oxidative bromination reaction using Ti‐MCM‐41 as catalyst showed impressive results, with the 60 °C catalysts having higher activity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

介孔载体负载Pt催化剂上α-酮酸酯的不对称氢化

以介孔材料SBA-15、经或未经Al2O3修饰的具有三维立方孔道结构的SiO2为载体,制备了负载型Pt催化剂,并用于催化α-酮酸酯底物2-氧代-4-苯基-丁酸乙酯(EOPB)和丙酮酸乙酯(Etpy)的不对称氢化反应中.结果表明,当SBA-15孔径由6.2,7.6和9.2nm依次增加时,EOPB不对称氢化的活性和手性选择...     

半晶化双螺旋介孔MnO2的合成和电化学性质

Mesoporous silica KIT-6 has novel three-dimensional gyroidal channel structure, space group of 1a-3d, and ordered tunable pores up to 10 nm. In this paper, such mesostructured silica was employed as hard template to prepare semicrystalline gyroidal mesoporous MnO2. The structure was investigated by XRD, TEM and HRTEM, and found to be of high quality 1a-3d symmetry, in good accordance with the template structure. The material has a BET surface of 118 m2·g^-1 and pore volume of 0.35 cm3·g^- 1 after eliminating template. Mesoporous MnO2 has shown good electrochemical property as supercapacitor material in 1 mol·L^-1 Na2SO4 and 1 mol·L^-1 LiClO4 solutions, but interesting pseudocapacitance behavior was observed in the case of 6 mol·L^-1 KOH. It was found that mesoporous MnO2 performed stable reversible electrochemical behavior with capacitance of 220 F·g^-1 in a potential range of -0.1-0.55 V vs. Hg/HgO in alkaline solution, demonstrating that it is a promising novel electrode material for the fabrication of electrochemical capacitors.     

Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Materials by Dry Etching

A novel synthesis method for ordered mesoporous carbons is presented. The inverse replication of a silica template was achieved using the carbonization of sucrose within mesoporous KIT‐6. Instead of liquid acid etching, as in classical nanocasting, a novel dry chlorine etching procedure for template removal is presented for the first time. The resultant ordered mesostructured carbon material outperforms carbons obtained by conventional hard templating with respect to high specific micro‐ and mesopore volumes (0.6 and 1.6 cm³ g^?1, respectively), due to the presence of a hierarchical pore system. A high specific surface area of 1671 m² g^?1 was achieved, rendering this synthesis route a highly convenient method to produce ordered mesoporous carbons.     

Highly Crystalline Mesoporous Phosphotungstic Acid: A High‐Performance Electrode Material for Energy‐Storage Applications

Heteropoly acids (HPAs) are unique materials with interesting properties, including high acidity and proton conductivity. However, their low specific surface area and high solubility in polar solvents make them unattractive for catalytic or energy applications. This obstacle can be overcome by creating nanoporosity within the HPA. We synthesized mesoporous phosphotungstic acid (mPTA) with a spherical morphology through the self‐assembly of phosphotungstic acid (PTA) with a polymeric surfactant as stabilized by KCl and hydrothermal treatment. The mPTA nanostructures had a surface area of 93 m² g^?1 and a pore size of 4 nm. Their high thermal stability (ca. 450 °C) and lack of solubility in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate (EC/DEC) electrolyte are beneficial for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Optimized mPTA showed a reversible capacity of 872 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 A g^?1 even after 100 cycles for LIBs, as attributed to a super‐reduced state of HPA and the storage of Li ions within the mesochannels of mPTA.     

Multiporous Carbon Encapsulated Ni Nanoparticles Promoting Glycerol Valorisation towards Hydrogenation against Rearrangement†

A dual‐templating method was used to synthesize a series of hierarchical carbon supports containing different proportions of spherical macropores (ca. 200 nm in diameter) and mesoporous channels (ca. 4 nm in diameter). These and some other conventional carbon materials were subsequently impregnated with Ni and tested for the conversion of glycerol. The hierarchical catalysts exhibited a significantly higher conversion (96%) and selectivity (77%) to 1,2‐propanediol, and the specificity selectivity coefficient (6.1) towards 1,2‐propanediol against lactic acid was three times higher than that observed over a conventional Ni/C_micro catalyst (2.1). The enhanced performance of these materials, compared with the Ni nanoparticles supported on conventional carbon supports, was attributed to their high surface areas (> 1110 m²?g^?1) and large pore volumes (ca. 0.4 cm³?g^?1) permitting greater accessibility of substrate and/or intermediates to Ni active sites. Given that the concentration of accessible Ni sites in these materials is higher, a competitive benzilic‐acid‐rearrangement reaction to produce lactic acid was suppressed, leading to an enhanced hydrogenation selectivity to 1,2‐propanediol. This study evidences the potential benefits, which can be established from utilizing hierarchical support materials in the valorization of biomass.     

Utilization of Environmentally Benign Dicyandiamide as a Precursor for the Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Nitride and its Application in Base‐Catalyzed Reactions

Assisted by a new dissolution procedure, dicyandiamide (DCDA), an environmentally benign and cheap precursor, has been employed for the synthesis of mesoporous carbon nitride (CN) materials through a nanocasting approach. The synthesized mesoporous materials possessed high specific surface areas (269–715 m² g^?1) with narrow pore‐size distributions (about 5 nm) and faithfully replicated the mesostructures of the SBA‐15 and FDU‐12 templates. Several characterization techniques, including XRD, SAXS, TEM, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, and CO₂‐TPD, were used to analyze the physicochemical properties of these materials and the results showed that the mesoporous CND materials had graphitic‐like structures and consisted of CN heterocycles, as well as amino groups. In a series of Knoevenagel condensation reactions, as exemplified by the reaction of various aldehydes and nitriles, these mesoporous CND materials demonstrated high and stable catalytic activities, owing to an abundance of basic sites.     

Encapsulating Sulfur into Hierarchically Ordered Porous Carbon as a High‐Performance Cathode for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

A three‐dimensional (3D) hierarchical carbon–sulfur nanocomposite that is useful as a high‐performance cathode for rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries is reported. The 3D hierarchically ordered porous carbon (HOPC) with mesoporous walls and interconnected macropores was prepared by in situ self‐assembly of colloidal polymer and silica spheres with sucrose as the carbon source. The obtained porous carbon possesses a large specific surface area and pore volume with narrow mesopore size distribution, and acts as a host and conducting framework to contain highly dispersed elemental sulfur. Electrochemical tests reveal that the HOPC/S nanocomposite with well‐defined nanostructure delivers a high initial specific capacity up to 1193 mAh g^?1 and a stable capacity of 884 mAh g^?1 after 50 cycles at 0.1 C. In addition, the HOPC/S nanocomposite exhibits high reversible capacity at high rates. The excellent electrochemical performance is attributed exclusively to the beneficial integration of the mesopores for the electrochemical reaction and macropores for ion transport. The mesoporous walls of the HOPC act as solvent‐restricted reactors for the redox reaction of sulfur and aid in suppressing the diffusion of polysulfide species into the electrolyte. The “open” ordered interconnected macropores and windows facilitate transportation of electrolyte and solvated lithium ions during the charge/discharge process. These results show that nanostructured carbon with hierarchical pore distribution could be a promising scaffold for encapsulating sulfur to approach high specific capacity and energy density with long cycling performance.     

Hierarchical mesoporous carbon materials: preparation by direct tri-constituent co-assembly and the electrochemical performance

Hierarchical mesoporous carbon materials with large microporosity were prepared by direct tri-constituent co-assembly with the use of resols as the carbon precursor, tetraethyl orthosilicate as the inorganic precursor, and triblock copolymer F127 as the soft template. Bimodal pore size distributions in the range of 1.5–4 and 7.5–12 nm were obtained in the synthesized hierarchical mesoporous carbon materials after etching of silica by HF acid, showing a high surface area of 1,675 m²?g^?1 with a large pore volume of 2.06 cm³?g^?1. The electrochemical performance of the hierarchical mesoporous carbons was evaluated as an electrode material for electrochemical supercapacitor, showing a specific capacitance as high as 152 F?g^?1 at a scan rate of 5 mV?s^?1 in 6 M KOH aqueous solution and a good cycling stability with capacitance retention of 99 % over 500 cycles.