Special Issue "Advances in Porous Inorganic Materials"

Guest Editor
Dr. Bénédicte Lebeau
Equipe Matéraiux à Porosité Contrôlée, Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse, CNRS LRC 7228, Université de Haute Alsace, 68093 Mulhouse, France
E-Mail:
Phone: +33 389 336882
Fax: +33 389 336885
Interests: ordered mesoporous solids; multiscale porous solids; silica hybrid sol-gel materials; organic functionalization; control of particle morphology of inorganic solids; shape-modelling of oxide solids; encapsulation for drug delivery systems

Dear Colleagues,

Among inorganic materials, porous ones have generated increasing interest in different scientific disciplines such as physics, chemistry and biology. Porous (from micro- to macroporous) inorganic materials exhibit very interesting characteristics due to the nature of their framework (crystalline or not) and the porosity that make them highly desirable in several application fields such as heterogeneous catalysis, adsorption, ion-exchange, sensor devices, medical therapy, and charges for polymers. Moreover, they also present great interest for nanoconfinement effects, study of adsorption phenomena, hard templating…The current evelopments of these materials are highly oriented by environmental concerns both at the synthesis level (low energy cost process and green reactants) and at the use level (pollutant adsorbents, gas storage, energy storage, and heterogeneous catalysts).

Several strategies have been developed for the synthesis of tailor-made porous inorganic materials in terms of porosity, surface properties, morphology, architecture…The nature of the framework can be choose either for its inertness and impact on macroscopic properties such as mechanical properties and thermal resistance or its intrinsic characteristics (optical, magnetical, acididity or basicity…). Porosity can be controlled in terms of size (from few Å to several nm), spatial organization (2D, 3D, multimodal) and surface reactivity (functionalization) which can be of interest for size selectivity, molecular diffusion, macroscopic density... Combination of both in addition to the control of particle morphology and/or material architecture can lead to multifunctional materials with optimized properties. Thanks to their pore network characteristics, they offer numerous advantages when high loading, controlled release, molecule loneliness, large specific surface area, and easy matter transfer are required.

This special issue aims at covering  recent progress and novel trends in the field of the elaboration of porous inorganic materials (synthesis strategies, characterization methods, and applications).

Dr. Bénédicte Lebeau
Guest Editor

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• micro-, meso- and macroporous inorganic solids
• multiscale porosity
• tailored architecture
• morphology control
• porous sorbents
• heterogeneous catalyst
• drug delivery systems
• multifunctional porous inorganic materials

Feature Paper:

Title: Al₂O₃ Catalytic Supports – Challenges and Strategies in the Synthesis of Mesoporous Alumina Powders and Hierarchical Alumina Monoliths
Authors: Sarah Hartmann, Bernard Coq and Anne Galarneau
Affiliations: Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS/UM2/ENSCM/UM1, ENSCM 8 rue de l’Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier cedex 5, France; E-Mail: anne.galarneau@enscm.fr (A.G.); bernard.coq@enscm.fr (B.C.); sarah.hartmann@lcoms.cpe.fr (S.H.)
Abstract: High surface area alumina materials are important industrial catalytic supports for a wide field of processes such as Claus process, automobile emission control, hydrodesulfurization, fine chemicals synthesis…Thus, the tailoring of the materials properties such as the porosity at different lengths scales, high specific surface areas, crystallinity, thermal stability are crucial parameters for their development. In this article, we outline advantages and difficulties of different possible synthesis routes towards porous amorphous alumina materials such as hierarchically alumina monoliths, well-ordered or disordered mesoporous alumina powders exhibiting high specific surface areas and large pore volumes, as well as the presence of some g-alumina parts.
Keywords: mesoporous alumina; alumina monolith; high surface area alumina; hierachical porosity; ordered alumina; catalyst support

General Paper:

Type of Paper: Article
Title: FeTUD-1 for the Preferential Rupture of the Unsubstituted C-C Bond of Methylcyclopentane (MCP)
Authors: Ioana Fechete ^1,*, Bertrand Donnio ², Ovidiu Ersen ² and François Garin ¹
Affiliations: ¹ Laboratoire des Matériaux, Surfaces et Procédés pour la Catalyse, UMR 7515 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 25 rue Becquerel, 67087, Strasbourg Cedex 2, France; E-Mail: ifechete@unistra.fr
² Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504 CNRS, 23 rue du Loess BP 43, F-67034, Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
Abstract: Fe-TUD61 mesoporous materials containing isolated Fe atoms in tetrahedral framework positions were successfully synthesized up to a Si/Fe of 30. When tungsten content was increased up to a Si/Fe of 20, the mesoporous structure was only partially maintained, and for a Si/Fe of 10 an amorphous phase was obtained. Highly isolated tetrahedral framework iron atoms in the Fe-TUD-1 with a Si/Fe of 30, have been identified by UV-Vis band at 225 nm, IR-TF band at 970 cm^-1 and XRD. The Fe XPS results suggest that the iron atoms exist in two oxidation states. A comparison of samples with Si/Fe of ∞, Si/W of 30 and Si/W of 10 was performed using the conversion of MCP carried out at 450 °C under H₂.

Title: Kinetic Study of Carbon Nano Materials Production
Author: Ahu Gumrah Dumanli
Affiliation: Materials Science and Metallurgy Department, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK; E-Mail: agd33@cam.ac.uk
Abstract: A kinetic study was performed to describe the specific rate of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) and  Carbon nanofiber (CNF) synthesis by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a NaCl supported metal catalyst system using acetylene as hydrocarbon source. The carbon nanostructure production is performed under conditions for which the growth rate is controlled by the chemical reaction kinetics. This can be achieved by carrying out the CVD process at lower temperatures (between 500ºC and 700ºC). The study uses a mass flow-meter that allows to monitor the feeding gas and comparing reaction rate with respect to the product formed. The aim is to obtain a better understanding of the elementary steps involved in the production of these carbon nanoproducts so as to derive phenomenological kinetic models in agreement with experimental data. A pseudo rate constant of zero was found for all catalyst types, implying that acetylene was saturated under the conditions of reaction as the rate-limiting step is the carbon diffusion through the solid catalyst particles. The catalyst activity towards the carbon nanostructure production was found in the following order; Ni, Fe, Co, Cu and Zn.

Title: Screening of Metal Exchanged β Zeolites as Catalysts for the Conversion of Acetone to Hydrocarbons
Author: Francisco Jose Romero-Salguero
Affiliation: Departamento de Quimica Organica, Instituto Andaluz de Quimica Fina y Nanoquimica (IAQFN), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Cordoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edificio Marie Curie, 14071 Cordoba, Spain; E-Mail: qo2rosaf@uco.es
Abstract: A beta zeolite has been subjected to ion exchange with different divalent and trivalent cations under the same conditions. They have been exchanged in different extensions and the silicon to aluminium ratios of the zeolites have been hardly affected, except for the Cr³⁺ and Fe³⁺ exchanged samples which underwent some dealumination. The surface Brönsted acidity decreased and the Lewis acidity increased particularly upon ion exchange with divalent cations. All these materials were tested as catalysts for the transformation of acetone into hydrocarbons. The protonic zeolite exhibited the higher activity whereas the selectivity depended on the particular catalyst. Some of the exchanged metals seemed to be involved in the acetone conversion. Different reaction routes have been proposed to explain the product distribution.