Inorganic porous solids

Curved structures are not only limited to carbon and the dichalcogenides of Mo and W. Perhaps the most well-known example of a tube-like structure with diameters in the nm range is formed by the asbestos mineral (chrysotil) whose fibrous characteristics are determined by the tubular structure of the fused tetrahedral and octahedral layers. The synthesis of meso-porous silica with well-defined pores in the 2-20 nm range was reported by Beck and Kresge.6 The synthetic strategy involved the self-assembly of liquid crystalline templates. The pore size in zeolitic and other inorganic porous solids is varied by a suitable choice of the template. However, in contrast to the synthesis of porous compounds, the synthesis of nanotubes is somewhat more difficult. 

Similarly, there is a great potential in the use of water vapour for the analysis of the porous texture, because it has considerable potential due to both the easy experimental conditions (at room temperature the whole range of relative pressures can be covered) and the characteristics of the molecule itself (polar molecule and small kinetic diameter-0.28 nm). This vapour is widely used in the characterisation of inorganic porous solids, such as zeolites, silicas, and clays. However, its interaction with carbon materials (microporous carbons coals, activated carbon fibres, carbon molecular sieves and porous carbons activated carbons), is more complex than the interaction of non-polar molecules [8]. 

Never before in the molecular sieve area, has one been able to control so many of the characteristics of inorganic porous solids. All this appears possible due to... 

Moreover, this behaviour adds a new route for drug storage and release. Two routes have been previonsly set up the organic route , which uses either biocompatible dendritic macromolecules or polymers [214,215], and the inorganic route , in which the hosts are inorganic porous solids, such as zeolites [216,217]... 

Type IV isotherms are often found with inorganic oxide xerogels and other porous solids. With certain qualifications, which will be discussed in this chapter, it is possible to analyse Type IV isotherms (notably those of nitrogen at 77 K) so as to obtain a reasonable estimate of the specific surface and an approximate assessment of the pore size distribution. 

Once the membrane was successfully produced, it was analysed for characterisation and scanning. The sol-gel technique was successfully used to obtain a crack-free unsupported membrane, which was expected to have pore size of 1-2 nm. The development of the crack-free membrane may not have the same strength without strong, solid support. The next stage of this work was to characterise the fabricated membrane. Hie objectives of this study were to develop a zirconia-coated 7-alumina membrane with inorganic porous support by the sol-gel method and to characterise the surface morphology of the membrane and ceramic support. 

The use of FOSS polyhedra as models for silica surfaces or as secondary building units in inorganic materials such as zeolites or other porous solids is likely to increase rapidly as more is understood about the mechanisms by which the polyhedra may be constructed. It will be of particular interest to see if the larger structures such as TeoHeo or T240H240 or their derivatives (Section VII.C) and analogous to carbon structures such as Cgo or nanotubes, can be prepared. 

Apart from inorganic ionic oxides, sulfides, alloys, many minerals, porous solids, and the like also show composition variation. These materials raise a problem How does the structure accommodate the alteration in composition A vast number of different structural ways to account for composition variation are now known. 

Most industrial catalysts are heterogeneous catalysts consisting of solid active components dispersed on the internal surface of an inorganic porous support. The active phases may consist of metals or oxides, and the support (also denoted the carrier) is typically composed of small oxidic structures with a surface area ranging from a few to several hundred m2/g. Catalysts for fixed bed reactors are typically produced as shaped pellets of mm to cm size or as monoliths with mm large gas channels. A catalyst may be useful for its activity referring to the rate at which it causes the reaction to approach chemical equilibrium, and for its selectivity which is a measure of the extent to which it accelerates the reaction to form the desired product when multiple products are possible [1],... 

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