The first bidirectional zeolite that contains ultralarge and large intersecting pores has been made and shows higher catalytic activity than unidirectional ultralarge pore zeolites.
The first bidirectional zeolite that contains ultralarge and large intersecting pores has been made and shows higher catalytic activity than unidirectional ultralarge pore zeolites.
Although zeolites are widely used as catalysts, ultralarge pore zeolites with unidirectional channels can suffer from reduced catalytic activity if their channels become blocked by products or coke deposition, which leads to reduced diffusion of the reactants into the zeolite. In order to address this, Avelino Corma and his colleagues at Universidad Politecnica de Valencia and Universidad Computense de Madrid, Spain, prepared the ultralarge pore zeolite ITQ15 which contains intersecting 14- and 12-ring channels. They are able to introduce strong acid sites into the structure and preliminary catalytic results with the material are promising. But Corma sounds a note of caution; ’the big challenge in this field is still to make the zeolites cheaper, so that the new structures can be used for processes requiring large amounts of catalyst’.
Caroline Evans
References
A Corma et al, Chem. Commun., 2004, 1356 <MAN>b406572g</MAN>
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