Mesopore-modified zeolites: preparation, characterization, and applications.

Amongst the current developments in the field of hierarchical pore structures, the creation of mesopores in zeolite crystals is the most frequently employed way to combine micropores with mesopores in one material. In this review an overview is presented of the different approaches to generate and characterize mesopores in zeolite crystals and establish their impact on the catalytic action. Mesopores can be created via several routes from which steaming and acid leaching are the most frequently applied. Novel approaches using secondary carbon templates that are removed after synthesis have recently been launched. For the characterization of mesopores, nitrogen physisorption and electron microscopy are commonly used. More recently, it was shown that electron tomography, a form of three-dimensional transmission electron microscopy, is able to reveal the three-dimensional shape, size, and connectivity of the mesopores. The effect of the presence of mesopores for catalysis is demonstrated for several industri...

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Generation, Characterization, and Impact of Mesopores in Zeolite Catalysts

Acid catalysts in industrial hydrocarbon chemistry.

The discovery of ordered mesoporous materials has opened great opportunities for new applications in heterogeneous catalysis, thanks to their hitherto unprecedented intrinsic structural features. Evidence shows that, however, these materials have not met the researchers' expectations mainly because of the severe limitations related to the strength of acid sites and to the thermal/hydrothermal stability, significantly lower than those of zeolites and due to the amorphous nature of the mesostructured materials. These features are highlighted in the first part of this review, where the peculiarities of mesostructured materials are compared with those of zeolite catalysts in some reactions of industrial interest. New synthesis strategies, especially designed for preparing materials with improved physico-chemical and textural properties, together with the catalytic features of the resulting materials, are described and discussed in the second part of the review.

Porous materials in catalysis: challenges for mesoporous materials

Oil is nowadays the main energy source and this prevalent position most probably will continue in the next decades. This situation is largely due to the degree of maturity that has been achieved in oil refining and petrochemistry as a consequence of the large effort in research and innovation. The remarkable efficiency of oil refining is largely based on the use of zeolites as catalysts. The use of zeolites as catalysts in refining and petrochemistry has been considered as one of the major accomplishments in the chemistry of the XXth century. In this tutorial review, the introductory part describes the main features of zeolites in connection with their use as solid acids. The main body of the review describes important refining processes in which zeolites are used including light naphtha isomerization, olefin alkylation, reforming, cracking and hydrocracking. The final section contains our view on future developments in the field such as the increase in the quality of the transportation fuels and the coprocessing of increasing percentage of biofuels together with oil streams. This review is intended to provide the rudiments of zeolite science applied to refining catalysis.

G. Girotti

Papers

Liquid-Phase Alkylation of Benzene with Light Olefins Catalyzed by β-Zeolites

Experimental and Computational Study of Beta, ZSM-12, Y, Mordenite and ERB-1 in Cumene Synthesis

Liquid‐Phase Alkylation of Benzene with Light Olefins Catalyzed by . beta. Zeolites.