Crystalline mesoporous transition metal oxides: hard-templating synthesis and application in environmental catalysis

Abstract

Mesoporous silicas such as MCM-41 and SBA-15 possess high surface areas, ordered nanopores, and excellent thermal stability, and have been often used as catalyst supports. Although mesoporous metal oxides have lower surface areas compared to mesoporous silicas, they generally have more diversified functionalities. Mesoporous metal oxides can be synthesized via a soft-templating or hard-templating approach, and these materials have recently found some applications in environmental catalysis, such as CO oxidation, N₂O decomposition, and elimination of organic pollutants. In this review, we summarize the synthesis of mesoporous transition metal oxides using mesoporous silicas as hard templates, highlight the application of these materials in environmental catalysis, and furnish some prospects for future development.

Keywords

mesoporous materials / silica / metal oxide / hard-templating / environmental catalysis

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Acknowledgements

This work was financial supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21007011 and 21177028) and Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education in China (No. 20100071120012).

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg