Mesostructured zeolites

Abstract

Mesoporous materials constructed with microporous zeolitic frameworks (i.e., mesoporous zeolites) are of great interest owing to the very short diffusion path lengths across thin zeolite layers and the presence of large external surfaces containing strong Brønsted acid sites. These characteristics of mesoporous zeolites are highly advantageous for a wide range of applications, particularly in heterogeneous catalysis. The mesoporous materials show unprecedentedly high catalytic performances (e.g., high catalytic conversion and catalytic longevity) as zeolites in various petrochemical reactions and fine-chemical organic reactions and especially in reactions involving bulky molecules. In this chapter, we describe the various methods currently available for the synthesis of mesoporous zeolites.