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Densification of Silica Spheres: A New Pathway to Nano‐Dimensioned Zeolite‐Based Catalysts
Author(s) -
Machoke Albert Gonche Fortunatus,
Apeleo Zubiri Benjamin,
Leonhardt Rainer,
Marthala Venkata Ramana Reddy,
Schmiele Martin,
Unruh Tobias,
Hartmann Martin,
Spiecker Erdman,
Schwieger Wilhelm
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201702768
Subject(s) - zeolite , crystallinity , materials science , catalysis , chemical engineering , spheres , nano , amorphous solid , phase (matter) , nanotechnology , aluminium , morphology (biology) , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , astronomy , biology , engineering , genetics
Nanosized materials are expected to play a unique role in the development of future catalytic processes. Herein, pre‐prepared and geometrically well‐defined amorphous silica spheres are densified into silica‐rich zeolites with nanosized dimensions. After the densification, the obtained nanosized zeolites exhibit the same spherical morphology like the starting precursor but characterized by a drastically reduced size, higher density, and high crystallinity. The phase transformation into crystalline zeolite material and the densification effect are achieved through a well‐controlled steam‐assisted treatment of the larger precursor particles so that the transformation process proceeds always towards the center of the spheres, just like a shrinking process. Furthermore, this procedure is applicable also to commercially available silica particles, as well as aluminum‐containing systems (precursors) leading to acidic nano‐catalysts with improved catalytic performance.