Tailored Porous Materials

Abstract

Tailoring of porous materials involves not only chemical synthetic techniques for tailoring microscopic properties such as pore size, pore shape, pore connectivity, and pore surface reactivity, but also materials processing techniques for tailoring the meso- and the macroscopic properties of bulk materials in the form of fibers, thin films, and monoliths. These issues are addressed in the context of five specific classes of porous materials: oxide molecular sieves, porous coordination solids, porous carbons, sol−gel-derived oxides, and porous heteropolyanion salts. Reviews of these specific areas are preceded by a presentation of background material and review of current theoretical approaches to adsorption phenomena. A concluding section outlines current research needs and opportunities.