Synthesis, Modification, and Surface Characterization of Zeolitic and Mesoporous Materials

Zeolites and mesoporous molecular sieves have attracted a lot of attention in several areas of research and industrial application, such as catalysis and adsorption, due to their uniquely periodic channel structures with well-defined pore sizes which insert shape-selectivity properties, and their oxide framework which can accommodate hetero-metal atoms, altering physicochemical properties to meet the application requirements. In our research unit, the zeolitic and mesoporous materials are synthesized mainly via hydrothermal method. Modification is focused on introduction of hetero-metal atoms into their oxide matrix, and functionalization of their surface via chemical grafting. FT-IR spectroscopy with study of probe molecules adsorption is applied to characterize active surface species of the materials.