Zeolite is a family of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula Mn+
1/n(AlO
2)−
(SiO
2)
x･yH
2O where Mn+
1/n is either a metal ion or H+. These positive ions can be exchanged for others in a contacting electrolyte solution. H+
exchanged zeolites are particularly useful as solid acid catalysts.
A molecular sieve is a material with pores of uniform size. These pore diameters are similar in size to small molecules, and thus large molecules cannot enter or be adsorbed, while smaller molecules can. As a mixture of molecules migrates through the stationary bed of porous, semi-solid substance referred to as a sieve, the components of the highest molecular weight leave the bed first, followed by successively smaller molecules. Some molecular sieves are used in size-exclusion chromatography, a separation technique that sorts molecules based on their size. Another important use is as a desiccant. Most of molecular sieves are aluminosilicate zeolites with Si/Al molar ratio less than 2, but there are also examples of activated charcoal and silica gel.
James Mitchell Tour is an American chemist and nanotechnologist. He is a Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
A mesoporous material is a nanoporous material containing pores with diameters between 2 and 50 nm, according to IUPAC nomenclature. For comparison, IUPAC defines microporous material as a material having pores smaller than 2 nm in diameter and macroporous material as a material having pores larger than 50 nm in diameter.
Aluminium phosphate is a chemical compound. In nature it occurs as the mineral berlinite. Many synthetic forms of aluminium phosphate are known. They have framework structures similar to zeolites and some are used as catalysts, ion-exchangers or molecular sieves. Commercial aluminium phosphate gel is available.
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous polymers consisting of metal clusters coordinated to organic ligands to form one-, two- or three-dimensional structures. The organic ligands included are sometimes referred to as "struts" or "linkers", one example being 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (BDC).
Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are a class of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that are topologically isomorphic with zeolites. ZIFs are composed of tetrahedrally-coordinated transition metal ions connected by imidazolate linkers. Since the metal-imidazole-metal angle is similar to the 145° Si-O-Si angle in zeolites, ZIFs have zeolite-like topologies. As of 2010, 105 ZIF topologies have been reported in the literature. Due to their robust porosity, resistance to thermal changes, and chemical stability, ZIFs are being investigated for applications such as carbon dioxide capture.
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a class of porous polymers that form two- or three-dimensional structures through reactions between organic precursors resulting in strong, covalent bonds to afford porous, stable, and crystalline materials. COFs emerged as a field from the overarching domain of organic materials as researchers optimized both synthetic control and precursor selection. These improvements to coordination chemistry enabled non-porous and amorphous organic materials such as organic polymers to advance into the construction of porous, crystalline materials with rigid structures that granted exceptional material stability in a wide range of solvents and conditions. Through the development of reticular chemistry, precise synthetic control was achieved and resulted in ordered, nano-porous structures with highly preferential structural orientation and properties which could be synergistically enhanced and amplified. With judicious selection of COF secondary building units (SBUs), or precursors, the final structure could be predetermined, and modified with exceptional control enabling fine-tuning of emergent properties. This level of control facilitates the COF material to be designed, synthesized, and utilized in various applications, many times with metrics on scale or surpassing that of the current state-of-the-art approaches.
Mesoporous organosilica are a type of silica containing organic groups that give rise to mesoporosity. They exhibit pore size ranging from 2 nm - 50 nm, depending on the organic substituents. In contrast, zeolites exhibit pore sizes less than a nanometer. PMOs have potential applications as catalysts, adsorbents, trapping agents, drug delivery agents, stationary phases in chromatography and chemical sensors.
Ryoo Ryong FRSC is a distinguished professor of chemistry at KAIST in Daejeon, South Korea. He was the head of the Center for Nanomaterials and Chemical Reactions, an Extramural Research Center of the Institute for Basic Science. Ryoo has won a variety of awards, including the Top Scientist and Technologist Award of Korea given by the South Korean government in 2005. He obtained the KOSEF Science and Technology Award in 2001 for his work on the synthesis and crystal structure of mesoporous silica.
Hong-Cai (Joe) Zhou is a Chinese–American chemist and academic. He is the Davidson Professor of Science and Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry at Texas A&M University. He is the associate editor of the journal Inorganic Chemistry.
Niveen M. Khashab is a Lebanese chemist and an associate Professor of chemical Sciences and engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia since 2009. She is a laureate of the 2017 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science "for her contributions to innovative smart hybrid materials aimed at drug delivery and for developing new techniques to monitor intracellular antioxidant activity." She is also a fellow of the Royal Chemical Society, and a member of the American Chemical Society.
Debra R. Rolison is a physical chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory, where she is a head of the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section. Rolison's research involves the design, synthesis, and characterization of multi-functional nanostructures and ultra porous materials for rate-critical applications such as catalysis and energy storage. She is the 112th recipient of the William H. Nichols Medal Award.
Andrew R. Barron is a British chemist, academic, and entrepreneur. He is the Sêr Cymru Chair of Low Carbon Energy and Environment at Swansea University, and the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Foundation Chair in Chemistry at Rice University. He is the founder and director of Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at Swansea University, which consolidates the energy research at the University with a focus on environmental impact and future security. At Rice University, he leads a Research Group and has served as Associate Dean for Industry Interactions and Technology Transfer.
Julia Y. Chan is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Baylor University. Chan is an expert in the area of intermetallic crystal growth with a focus on new quantum materials.
Wendy Lee Queen is an American chemist and material scientist. Her research interest focus on development design and production of hybrid organic/inorganic materials at the intersection of chemistry, chemical engineering and material sciences. As of 2020 she is a tenure-track assistant professor at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, where she directs the Laboratory for Functional Inorganic Materials.
Steven L. Suib is an American inorganic chemist, academic and researcher. He is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at University of Connecticut. He is a director of the Institute of Materials Science and of the Center for Advanced Microscopy and Materials Analysis.
Robert Minge Mokaya FRS is a Kenyan-British chemist who is Professor of Materials Chemistry and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Nottingham. In 2024 it was confirmed that Mokaya would join the University of Sheffield in the role of Provost and Deputy-Vice-Chancellor. Mokaya holds a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award.
Mohamed H. Alkordi is a Professor of Materials Science, co-director of the Center for Material Science and Director of the Research Office at Zewail City of Science and Technology.
Metal–organic nanotubes (MONTs) are a class of crystalline coordination polymers consisting of organic ligands bonded to a metal or metal cluster that form single-walled one-dimensional porous structures. The usage of organic ligands allows the properties of the resulting material to be tuned, as in the parent class of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), but like carbon nanotubes, MONTs are anisotropic structures.
