(122e) Confined Synthesis of Silicalite-1 Nanocrystals In Threedimensionally Ordered Mesoporous Carbon | AIChE

(122e) Confined Synthesis of Silicalite-1 Nanocrystals In Threedimensionally Ordered Mesoporous Carbon

Authors 

Fan, W. - Presenter, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Kumar, S. - Presenter, University of Minnesota
won Choel, Y. - Presenter, Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota
Penn, R. L. - Presenter, University of Minnesota


The sustained interest in the synthesis of zeolite nanocrystals is justified because they can serve as catalysts, seeds for thin film growth and for preparation of polymer-zeolite nanocomposite membranes. In this study, silicalite-1 was synthesized inside three-dimensionally-ordered mesoporous carbon with a uniform pore size that can be tuned from 20 to 40 nm. The three-dimensionally-ordered mesoporous (3DOm) carbon was prepared using ordered arrays of silica nanoparticles (Lys-Sil) as a template1,2. Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction and N2 adsorption and desorption reveal that the silicalite-1 nanocrystals can reliably replicate the 3DOm porosity, resulting in the first highly ordered mesopororous/microporous material with inverse opal mesoporosity and MFI zeolite microporosity. Applications in catalysis and membranes will be discussed along with implications in understanding zeolite nucleation and growth.

1. Yokoi, T.; Sakamoto, Y.; Terasaki, O.; Kubota, Y.; Okubo, T.; Tatsumi, T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 13664-13665.

2. Davis, T. M.; Snyder, M. A.; Krohn, J. E.; Tsapatsis, M. Chem. Mater. 2006, 18, 5814-5816.