Published in Chemistry World, 15 Jul 2011
Chemists in Korea and the US have come up with a method to create catalysts known as zeolites with a hierarchical range of pore sizes, making way for the reaction of larger molecules than ever before. According to the researchers, the new zeolites could be used in the petrochemical industry to crack oil, or in organic synthesis.
Zeolites – crystalline materials with dense internal networks of pores – are one of the most widely used catalysts in the chemical industry today. They are used for applications as diverse as water purification, trapping nuclear waste and cracking heavy oil into shorter hydrocarbons. However, the catalytic applications of zeolites to date have been limited to smaller molecules: zeolite pore mouths tend to be smaller than 0.8 nanometres, so molecules larger than this cannot enter. […]
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