title: Hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites with three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous-imprinted structure.
abstract: Zeolites are microporous materials with pores and channels of molecular dimensions that find numerous applications in catalysis, separations, ion exchange, etc. However, whereas uniformity of micropore size is a most desirable and enabling characteristic for many of their uses, in certain cases, for example in reactions involving bulky molecules, it is a limitation. For this reason, synthesis of hierarchical zeolites with micro- and mesoporosity is of considerable interest as a way to control molecular traffic for improved catalytic and separation performance. Herein, we report a general synthesis route for the confined synthesis of zeolites within three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous carbon templates by conventional hydrothermal synthesis. Various zeolites, including BEA, LTA, FAU, and LTL, with three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous-imprinted structure have been synthesized by this approach. It is expected that these hierarchical zeolite materials will provide building blocks for thin-film and other syntheses and may provide a basis for quantitatively studying the mass-transfer limitation on the catalytic performance of zeolite catalysts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.
authors.forename: Huiyong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wydra
authors.forename: Xueyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Pyung-Soo
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Zhuopeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsapatsis