Structured zeolite containing composite materials – preparation
and properties
Prof. W. SCHWIEGER
Chemical Reaction Engineering
Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg
Since the late eighties, there has been a rising interest in the development of zeolite
coatings. Zeolite coatings are defined as composite materials, comprising a carrier on which
zeolite crystals are physically or chemically bonded. Supporting zeolite onto carriers or
substrates of different nature, composition and structure/architecture represents a great
improvement concerning the technical applicability of zeolitic materials in traditional and
emerging fields like catalysis, adsorption, separation and sensors. The zeolite-supported
composite leads to performances that are beyond the limitations of unsupported zeolites, by
adding mechanical strength, a structuring function and novel functionalities. Indeed, the
combination of different materials (zeolite and carrier) with different properties can lead to
important synergies, allowing for the manufacturing of multifunctional composites, and
broadening the range of applications of zeolitic materials.
The aim of the contribution is to offer an overview on special coating techniques,
highlighting their synthesis, properties, and potential applications.
Hierarchical porous structures1,2, combining the benefits of different pore-size
regimes. Materials with combinations of micro-/mesopores4, micro-/macropores5, meso/macropores6 or porosity spreading up to the three orders7 have been synthesized, generally
employing two different approaches. Template-directed synthesis utilizes the inherent
porosity of temporary/sacrificial templates (artificial or biological) to structure hierarchical
porous inorganic frameworks by an imprinting process8. Differently, the coating approach
yields hierarchical porous composites by deposition or in-situ synthesis of micro- or mesoporous frameworks onto porous carriers9,10.
In the development of hierarchical porous structure, zeolites1 are playing a major role.
Many efforts have been concentrated in realizing supported zeolite films for membrane
technology11 and zeolite composites or coatings for catalytic and adsorption application12. The
great number of different porous carriers which can be used and the huge number of zeolite
types make it possible to finely tailor materials for specific technical applications10,13. More
recently interests have been also given to self-supporting porous zeolitic frameworks14,
leading also to the development of hierarchical bioinspired architectures, utilizing zeolites as
building blocks to mimic natural or biological architectures3,15.
References
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sintered kaolin honeycomb by hydrothermal reaction, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 83, 1093-1097 (2000).
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