Confined space synthesis. A novel route to nanosized zeolites

Confined space synthesis is a novel method in zeolite synthesis. It involves crystallization of the zeolite inside the pore system of an inert mesoporous matrix. In this way it is possible to prepare nanosized zeolites with a controlled size distribution by proper choice of the inert matrix. Here, confined space synthesis was adopted to prepare nanosized ZSM-5, zeolite Beta, zeolite X, and zeolite A with tailored crystal size distributions using mesoporous carbon blacks as inert matrices. All zeolites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption prior to and after removal of the carbon matrix. ZSM-5 with Si/Al ratios of 50, 100, and infinity (silicalite-1) were synthesized with controlled average crystal sizes in the range 20-75 nm. Nanosized zeolite Beta (7-30 nm), zeolite X (22-60 nm), and zeolite A (25-37 nm) were prepared similarly. Removal of the carbon matrix by controlled combustion allows a convenient method for isolation of the pure and highly crystalline zeolites. Therefore, confined space synthesis appears to be an attractive method for preparation of zeolites with a controlled size distribution.     

Synthesis of dicationic ionic liquids and their application in the preparation of hierarchical zeolite Beta

Piperidine- and imidazole-based dicatoinic ionic liquids have been developed for the synthesis of zeolite Beta. Hierarchical Beta has a larger surface area and pore volume than conventional Beta. Beta derived from a dicationic ionic liquid exhibited remarkably higher catalytic activity than the conventional Beta. Experimental evidence and DFT calculations suggest that only a suitable conformation of such dicationic ionic liquids is able to form zeolite Beta (see scheme).     

Ordered micro/mesoporous composite prepared as thin films

A new synthesis method for preparation of thin films and powders consisting of zeolite beta nanocrystals embedded in ordered mesoporous silica matrix is described. The final structures possessing bimodal porosity, i.e., high degree of mesophase order and spatially defined microporous zeolite nanocrystals are obtained via simultaneous solvent evaporation of preformed silica/surfactant/ethanol/nanosized zeolite beta assemblies. The films were characterized with grazing-incident diffraction (GID), nitrogen sorption based on gravimetric measurements with quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) devices, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is shown that the incorporation of beta nanocrystals in the mesoporous silica matrix and the mesophase order itself can be controlled through the variation of the fractional amounts of the zeolite nanoparticles and silica/surfactant solutions. The HR-TEM measurements showed that the nanosized Beta microporous crystals are separated and at the same time connected through an ordered mesostructured matrix.     

Extra‐Framework Aluminum Species of Zeolite that Surrogate the Growth of Metal Organic Framework from Zeolite Matrix

Constructing a robust hybrid material with a porous inorganic and a porous organic framework is highly intriguing owing to its diverse functionality and porosity. However, the line of synthesis is not straightforward, since their nucleation and crystal growth processes are incompatible. Here, a simple method for the fabrication of hybrid zeolite/metal–organic framework of different framework structures is developed wherein the less‐useful extra‐framework aluminum species present in the zeolite surrogate the growth of metal organic framework (MOF) from the zeolite matrix in the presence of organic linkers of the corresponding MOF. An NMR study confirms that all the octahedral Al species are converted to Al‐MOF. TGA analysis shows that 32 % Al of H‐Beta is converted to Al‐MOF. Furthermore, NH₃ TPD analysis shows that most of the weak acid sites disappear but strong acid sites are preserved suggesting the utilization of weakly bound Al species of H‐Beta in the growth of Al‐MOF. The synthesis strategy is successfully demonstrated using H‐Beta, H‐ZSM‐5, and H‐Y zeolites for the growth of MIL‐53 and MIL‐96 MOFs from the zeolite matrix. This synthesis strategy enables application‐based engineering of the framework structures, functionality, and porosity of the materials.     

多级孔Beta沸石合成研究进展

沸石分子筛是许多工业过程中不可缺少的催化剂。其中,Beta沸石因其具有三维大微孔结构而成为生产广泛并且具有重要工业意义的沸石材料之一。与传统微孔Beta沸石相比,多级孔Beta沸石具有更小的空间位阻,更高的传质效率等诸多优点,从而能减少其在作为催化剂时积碳的形成,从而延长催化剂的使用寿命,提高催化剂利用效率。本文以Beta沸石为代表,从“自下而上”（直接合成）和“自上而下”（后期修饰）两种策略详细地介绍了多级孔沸石合成的研究进展,对硬模板剂法、软模板剂法、无介孔模板剂法、脱铝法和脱硅法进行了全面的介绍,并简要介绍了多级孔Beta沸石的特点,最后总结了各种合成方法的优点及存在的问题并对其未来发展前景进行了展望。     

Extraordinarily high activity in the hydrodesulfurization of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene over Pd supported on mesoporous zeolite Y

Design and preparation of highly active hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts is very important for the removal of air pollution. Herein, we report an extraordinarily active HDS catalyst, which is synthesized by loading of Pd on mesoporous zeolite Y (Pd/HY-M). The mesoporous zeolite Y is successfully synthesized using a water glass containing N,N-dimethyl-N-octadecyl-N-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) ammonium [(C(2)H(5)O)(3)SiC(3)H(6)N(CH(3))(2)C(18)H(37)](+) cation as a mesoscale template. Compared with mesoporous Beta and ZSM-5 supported Pd catalysts (80.0% and 73.4% for Pd/HBeta-M and Pd/HZSM-5-M, respectively) as well as commercial catalyst of γ-Al(2)O(3) supported Pd catalyst (31.4%), Pd/HY-M catalyst exhibited very high activity in HDS of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DM-DBT, 97.3%). The higher activity of Pd/HY-M than that of Pd/HBeta-M and Pd/HZSM-5-M is assigned to the larger micropore size of zeolite Y compared to that of Beta and ZSM-5. Theoretical simulation and adsorption experimental data show that 4,6-DM-DBT has difficulty entering the micropores of ZSM-5 and Beta zeolites, but the micropores of Y zeolite are accessible.     

Synthesis of Beta/MCM-41 composite molecular sieve with high hydrothermal stability in static and stirred condition

Beta/MCM-41 micro/mesoporous composite materials have been prepared through assembly of zeolite Beta nanoclusters and their hydrolysis products in the presence of CTAB under static or stirred conditions. The resulting materials were characterized by powder XRD, TEM and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. Hydrothermal stability of the obtained Beta/MCM-41 composites was evaluated by boiling in distilled water for different periods of time under refluxing. All materials exhibit very high hydrothermal stability.     

Beta zeolite colloidal nanocrystals supported on mesoporous MCM-41

Zeolite-based composite materials prepared by the embedding of the beta zeolite nanophase from aqueous colloidal solution into matrices of preformed Si(Al)MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves have been characterized by different methods (XRD, SEM, FTIR, N2 adsorption, and TPD of NH3). Their potential as catalysts for toluene disproportionation has been compared to mechanical mixtures of freeze-dried nanobeta crystallites with Si(Al)MCM-41 mesoporous materials. It is found that the zeolite catalyst efficiency is not substantially changed by the presence of mesopores belonging to the matrix. It is suggested that formation of intergrown aggregates from the colloidal nanobeta particles provides own highly developed textural mesoporosity that makes the contribution of the diffusional alleviation of the support negligible.     

多级孔无铝Beta分子筛的合成与表征

研究了氟介质条件下,合成参数对前驱体黏度和无铝Beta分子筛晶化过程的影响.X射线衍射结果表明,高水硅比可降低前驱体的黏度,但抑制分子筛的晶化.当合成体系中加入成核促进剂(二氧化锗)和晶化促进剂(高氯酸根或磷酸根)后,即使水硅摩尔比高达20~30,在150℃水热合成4 d,仍可获得高结晶性、微米级球形或多面体形无铝Beta分子筛.热重和能谱分析结果表明,极少量高氯酸根和磷酸根可进入分子筛孔道,并影响模板剂四乙基铵根离子的热分解过程.氮气吸附-脱附、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜和选区电子衍射分析结果表明,所得无铝Beta分子筛具有多级孔结构,介孔尺寸在3.4~3.8 nm之间,由纳米晶体或纳米棒堆积而成.     

Gemini quaternary ammonium salt cationic surfactant‐assisted hydrothermal synthesis: An effective way to tune the textural properties of zeolite and the acidity of Beta molecular sieves

Novel hierarchical Beta zeolites have been successfully synthesized via a one‐pot dual‐templates strategy utilizing gemini organic surfactant and tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAOH)through hydrothermal process. The influence of several parameters on the formation of hierarchical Beta zeolite, the change in acidity and a possible growth scheme were systematically investigated. The physicochemical properties of these catalysts were characterized by PXRD, BET, SEM, HRTEM SAED, TG and NH₃‐TPD techniques, and the performance as acid catalysts was verified using the transformation of EtOH as a model reaction. On one hand, WAXRD data indicated that decreasing the temperature of synthesis and increasing amounts of C_12‐6‐12 in the process of synthesis resulted in lower crystallinity of Beta zeolites due to the BEA nuclei formation and crystal growth constrained by C_12‐6‐12. On the other hand, SAXRD and HRTEM data evidenced that C_12‐6‐12 initially generated a pseudo‐ordered mesoporous phase which was then partially occupied by the zeolite. After a period of ~96 h for crystallization, the hierarchy zeolite possessing 765.7 m²·g^‐1 of Brunauer‐Emmett‐Tellerarea, and average mesopore size distribution of 3.51 nm can be synthesized, and its microporous structure has a good crystallinity and lower amounts of acid sites than that of the microporous Beta one. Furthermore, the as‐obtained hierarchical zeolite displayed lower deactivation rate mainly due to the less coke formation on the surface of catalyst. It is expected to develop more considerable potential application value for the hierarchical Beta zeolite structure in the near future.     

A novel template-free sol–gel synthesis of silica materials with mesoporous structures and zeolitic walls

Hierarchical porous materials with zeolite structures show great promise in catalysis due to combining the advantages of zeolites and mesoporous materials. Here a novel template-free sol–gel method is developed to synthesize hierarchical porous silica materials. This method involves solvothermal recrystallization of the xerogel converted from uniform silicalite-1 precursor sol via vacuum drying process. The zeolite sol and the solid samples were characterized by laser light scattering, XRD, N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherm, FTIR, SEM, TEM and thermal analysis technologies. The results show that we obtain two novel materials with different mesoporous structures and silicalite-1 walls by using different recrystallization media, one of which has irregular arrays of mesopores, the other possesses 3D wormhole mesoporous structure. We speculate that formation of different mesoporous structures results from different nucleation and growth process of materials     

由纳米晶前驱体组装有序介孔silicalite-1分子筛

采用两步法将不同尺寸的silicalite-1分子筛纳米晶种通过自组装合成了一系列有序介孔silicalite-1分子筛。首先将强碱性的silicalite-1前驱体分别加热不同时间得到纳米晶种,然后在类似合成SBA-15的强酸性条件下组装成有序的介孔材料。合成条件的剧烈变化阻止了分子筛晶种的继续长大,并在三嵌段共聚物模板的诱导下组装成有序介孔材料。这种“自下而上”的方法制备有序介孔分子筛同时包含微孔和介孔。氮气吸脱附结果表明所制备的介孔分子筛材料均表现了很大的比表面积(730 m2/g以上)。     

磷酸盐辅助一步合成介孔Beta分子筛

在合成纳米Beta分子筛的体系中添加磷酸二氢钠等无机盐,通过一步晶化制备介孔Beta分子筛.纳米分子筛组装形成的二次粒子克服了传统纳米粒子难以过滤分离的问题,同时所形成的粒间介孔改善了分子在催化剂内的扩散从而提高催化反应效率.采用X射线衍射、扫描电镜、氮吸附-脱附和氨程序升温脱附等表征方法对材料进行表征,结果表明磷酸二氢钠的用量对介孔体积有很大影响.当NaH2PO4/SiO2摩尔比为0.1时,合成的材料具有较好的孔结构和酸性,并在叔丁醇与苯酚的液相烷基化反应中表现出最好的催化活性.     

Tailored Porous Silicon Microparticles: Fabrication and Properties

The use of mesoporous silicon particles for drug delivery has been widely explored thanks to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. The ability to tailor the physicochemical properties of porous silicon at the micro‐ and nanoscale confers versatility to this material. A method for the fabrication of highly reproducible, monodisperse, mesoporous silicon particles with controlled physical characteristics through electrochemical etching of patterned silicon trenches is presented. The particle size is tailored in the micrometer range and pore size in the nanometer range, the shape from tubular to discoidal to hemispherical, and the porosity from 46 to over 80 %. In addition, the properties of the porous matrix are correlated with the loading of model nanoparticles (quantum dots) and their three‐dimensional arrangement within the matrix is observed by transmission electron microscopy tomography. The methods developed in this study provide effective means to fabricate mesoporous silicon particles according to the principles of rational design for therapeutic vectors and to characterize the distribution of nanoparticles within the porous matrix.     

混合阳离子-非离子表面活性剂为模板剂合成含沸石次级结构单元的介孔分子筛

利用混合阳离子-非离子表面活性剂为模板剂采用两步晶化法合成了孔壁具有沸石次级结构单元的介孔分子筛，通过XRD、N2吸附-脱附、FT-IR以及异丙苯裂解探针反应等手段对样品进行了表征。结果表明，合成的介孔材料在结构上与相应的M41S材料类似，无微孔沸石相的存在。立方介孔材料具有较高的热稳定性和水热稳定性，在催化异丙苯裂解反应中，六方介孔材料的催化活性明显高于相似条件下用单一表面活性剂为模板剂合成的含沸石次级结构单元的六方介孔材料。     

核壳结构的Beta-Y复合分子筛的合成与表征

采用两种不同的水热晶化法合成Beta-Y复合分子筛,并采用XRD、SEM-EDS、FT-IR、N₂ 吸附-脱附技术对其进行表征。结果表明,以Beta分子筛为唯一硅源合成的sample A具有Y和Beta分子筛两种晶型结构,为机械混合形式;而以Beta分子筛母液为前躯体合成的sample B为核壳结构的复合分子筛,具有Y和Beta分子筛两种晶型结构,其核相为Beta分子筛,壳层为Y型分子筛,其晶体中具有介孔结构,并且介孔孔径比较集中。     

Mechanism of homogeneously and heterogeneously catalysed Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley-Oppenauer reactions for the racemisation of secondary alcohols

The mechanism of hydrogen transfer from alcohols to ketones, catalysed by lanthanide(III) isopropoxides or zeolite Beta has been studied. For the lanthanide catalysed reactions, (S)-1-phenyl-(1-(2)H(1))ethanol and acetophenone were used as case studies to determine the reaction pathway for the hydrogen transfer. Upon complete racemisation all deuterium was present at the 1-position, indicating that the reaction exclusively takes place via a carbon-to-carbon hydrogen transfer. Zeolite Beta with different Si/Al ratios was applied in the racemisation of (S)-1-phenylethanol. In this case the racemisation does not proceed via an oxidation/reduction pathway but via elimination of the hydroxy group and its re-addition. This mechanism, however, is not characteristic for all racemisation reactions with zeolite Beta. When 4-tert-butyl cyclohexanone is reduced with this catalyst, a classical MPV reaction takes place exclusively. This demonstrates that zeolite Beta has a substrate dependent reaction pathway.     

A novel urea conductometric biosensor based on zeolite immobilized urease

A new approach was developed for urea determination where a thin film of silicalite and zeolite Beta deposited onto gold electrodes of a conductometric biosensor was used to immobilize the enzyme. Biosensor responses, operational and storage stabilities were compared with results obtained from the standard membrane methods for the same measurements. For this purpose, different surface modification techniques, which are simply named as Zeolite Membrane Transducers (ZMTs) and Zeolite Coated Transducers (ZCTs) were compared with Standard Membrane Transducers (SMTs). Silicalite and zeolite Beta with Si/Al ratios 40, 50 and 60 were used to modify the conductometric electrodes and to study the biosensor responses as a function of changing zeolitic parameters. During the measurements using ZCT electrodes, there was no need for any cross-linker to immobilize urease, which allowed the direct evaluation of the effect of changing Si/Al ratio for the same type of zeolite on the biosensor responses for the first time. It was seen that silicalite and zeolite Beta added electrodes in all cases lead to increased responses with respect to SMTs. The responses obtained from ZCTs were always higher than ZMTs as well. The responses obtained from zeolite Beta modified ZMTs and ZCTs increased as a function of increasing Si/Al ratio, which might be due to the increased hydrophobicity and/or the acid strength of the medium.     

Adsorption of benzene from benzene/n-C6 and n-C7 mixture by nano Beta zeolite with different Si/Al ratios

The adsorption of benzene from benzene/n-alkane mixtures was studied by two types of nano Beta zeolite with Si/Al ratios of 11.5 and 24.5. Benzene was adsorbed into benzene/n-hexane and n-heptane mixtures which had 0.5% up to 10% mole fraction of benzene using batch technique in the ambient temperature. The nano Beta zeolite has active sites on its surface, which have interaction with π electron in benzene, and this can increase the heat of adsorption. The Si/Al ratio defines the number of active sites in the zeolite surface and the heat of adsorption. However, an increase in the active sites of Beta zeolite declines the entropy of adsorption. Therefore, free energy of mixing specifies the potential of adsorption in Beta zeolite.As the results indicated in all mixtures, benzene is adsorbed more than n-hexane and n-heptane into the Beta zeolite surface, which suggests that this type of zeolite has a high separation factor (∼50) for benzene in Beta zeolite (Si/Al = 24.5). Also, Beta zeolite with Si/Al = 24.5 had a greater separation factor than Beta zeolite with Si/Al = 11.5 in similar mixtures.     

有机杂化介孔Beta分子筛的合成及在苯甲醇烷基化反应中的应用

针对沸石分子筛在苯甲醇和三甲基苯的烷基化催化反应应用中存在催化活性低及微孔孔道内大量苯甲醇自醚化副反应导致产物选择性低这一难题, 通过引入等级孔结构提高外比表面积和有机杂化修饰封堵微孔孔道的双重策略, 在大幅提升可接触的外表面活性中心数量的同时有效降低苯甲醇进入微孔孔道内发生自醚化副反应, 开发出具有高反应活性及烷基化产物选择性的有机杂化介孔Beta分子筛材料, 大幅度提升了其对苯甲醇和三甲基苯的烷基化反应的催化活性和产物的选择性, 使苯甲醇的转化率从66.8%提升到了99.7%, 烷基化产物的选择性从14.8%提高到50.7%. 本工作为开发高活性及高选择性的烷基化催化剂提供了新的思路.