Direct Aerosol Synthesis of Large-Pore Amorphous Mesostructured Aluminosilicates with Superior Acid-Catalytic Properties

CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol with Ga- and Zn-Doped Mesoporous Cu/SiO2 Catalysts Prepared by the Aerosol-Assisted Sol-Gel Process*

The preparation of copper-based heterogeneous catalysts dedicated to the hydrogenation of CO₂ to methanol typically relies on multi-step procedures carried out in batch. These steps are precisely tailored to introduce the active phase (Cu) and the promoters (e. g., zinc, gallium) onto a preformed support to maximize catalyst performance. However, each process step can be associated with the formation of waste and with the consumption of energy, thereby negatively impacting the environmental performance of the overall catalyst preparation procedure. Here, a direct and continuous production process is proposed for the synthesis of efficient catalysts for the CO₂ -to-methanol reaction. Gallium- and zinc-promoted mesoporous Cu-SiO₂ catalysts were prepared in one step by the aerosol-assisted sol-gel process. The catalysts consisted of spherical microparticles and featured high specific surface area and pore volume, with interconnected pores of about 6 nm. A strong promoting effect of Ga and Zn was highlighted, boosting the selectivity for methanol at the expense of CO. Upon calcination, it was shown that Cu species (initially trapped in the silica matrix) underwent a migration towards the catalyst surface and a progressive sintering. After optimization, the catalysts obtained via such direct, continuous, simple, and scalable route could compete with the best catalysts reported in the literature and obtained via multi-step approaches.

Mesoporous Zeolitic Materials (MZMs) Derived From Zeolite Y Using a Microwave Method for Catalysis

Mesostructured zeolitic materials (MZMs) with relatively high acidity in comparison with the mesoporous siliceous MCM-41 were prepared via an efficient, mild, and simple post-synthetic treatment of Y zeolite facilitated by microwave irradiation, i.e., microwave-assisted chelation (MWAC). The disordered mesoporous aluminosilicates materials (DMASs) of MZM were created from Y zeolite in the absence of using mesoscale templates. The prepared DMASs showed the good mesoporous features with the mesopore area and volume of ~260 m2 g-1 and ~0.37 cm3 g-1, respectively, and with the mesopore sizes distributed in a range of 2-10 nm. MZMs possess a total acidity of about 0.6 mmol g-1 and exhibited comparatively superior catalytic activity to the parent Y zeolite and MCM-41 in the vapor phase catalytic dealkylation of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene (TiPBz) and liquid phase catalytic aldol condensation of benzaldehyde with 1-heptanal. Although the yield loss was inevitable for preparing MZMs using the MWAC method, the preliminary economic analysis of the preparation cost of MZMs showed the promise. Additionally, a comprehensive comparison of the state-of-the-art mesoporous materials concerning their sustainable aspects was made, showing that MZMs are promising mesoporous materials for further development and functionalization for catalysis.

Well-organized zeolite nanocrystal aggregates with interconnected hierarchically micro-meso-macropore systems showing enhanced catalytic performance

Preparation and characterization of well-organized zeolitic nanocrystal aggregates with an interconnected hierarchically micro-meso-macro porous system are described. Amorphous nanoparticles in bimodal aluminosilicates were directly transformed into highly crystalline nanosized zeolites, as well as acting as scaffold template. All pores on three length scales incorporated in one solid body are interconnected with each other. These zeolitic nanocrystal aggregates with hierarchically micro-meso-macroporous structure were thoroughly characterized. TEM images and (29)Si NMR spectra showed that the amorphous phase of the initial material had been completely replaced by nanocrystals to give a micro-meso-macroporous crystalline zeolitic structure. Catalytic testing demonstrated their superiority due to the highly active sites and the presence of interconnected micro-meso-macroporosity in the cracking of bulky 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene (TIPB) compared to traditional zeolite catalysts. This synthesis strategy was extended to prepare various zeolitic nanocrystal aggregates (ZSM-5, Beta, TS-1, etc.) with well-organized hierarchical micro-meso-macroporous structures.