Nanoscale Phenomena Occurring during Pyrolysis of Salix viminalis Wood

Selective utilisation of unique properties of Salix viminalis wood enables preparation of materials of nanotechnologic properties. Thermal decomposition of lignin-cellulose organic matter results in the formation of a nanostructured porous carbon matrix (charcoal). Narrowed pore size distribution (PSD) in the subnanometer range allows to consider the charcoals as carbon molecular sieves (CMSs), which are capable of separating even chemically inert gases like neon, krypton, and nitrogen. High tolerance of Salix viminalis to heavy metal ions enables enriching living plant tissues with metal ions like lanthanum and manganese. Such ions may later form LaMnO3 with parallel transformation of plant tissues (organic matter) to carbon matrix using a heat treatment. In this way, one gets a hybrid material: a porous carbon matrix with uniformly suspended nanocrystallites of LaMoO3. The crystallites are in the catalytically active phase during the conversion of n-butanol to heptanone-4 with high yield and selectivity