Synthesis of foam-shaped nanoporous zeolite material: A simple template-based method

Abstract

Nanoporous zeolite foam is an interesting crystalline material with an open-cell microcellular structure, similar to polyurethane foam (PUF). The aluminosilicate structure of this material has a large surface area, extended porosity, and mechanical strength. Owing to these properties, this material is suitable for industrial applications such as large-scale gas separation and catalysis. As the applications of this material are significant, the underlying concepts for the design and synthesis may be used in an upper-level undergraduate laboratory in inorganic synthesis or material chemistry courses. This type of experiment can increase student understanding and integrate a variety of chemical concepts, such as targeted synthesis, characterization, and adsorption theory of gases. This laboratory experiment involves the synthesis and characterization of ZSM-5 type of zeolite foam that is synthesized from inexpensive materials and characterized by bulk density and porous volume measurements. This course would acquaint students with general characterization methods that are not normally encountered in a typical material or inorganic chemistry laboratory. © 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.