Rational Approaches toward the Design and Synthesis of Zeolitic Inorganic Open-Framework Materials

摘要

Snince the first synthesis of zeolites in 1940s, these materials and relatedninorganic open-framework materials with regular nanoporous space havenattracted considerable interest. Zeolites are important for catalysis, adsorp-ntion, and ion-exchange, and researchers are finding new applications for thesenmaterials in optics, electronics, sensors, and medicine. In particular, the pet-nrochemical industry is interested in the synthesis of new zeolite catalysts withnhigh catalytic activity and selectivity.nUsing hydrothermal, solvothermal, and the recently-developed iono-nthermal methods, researchers have prepared 194 types of zeolites andnthousands of zeolite-related inorganic open-framework materials. How-never, their syntheses are based primarily on an empirical “trial-and-er-nror” method. The rational synthesis of zeolitic inorganic open-frameworknmaterials, while targeting novel structures and functions, remains a for-nmidable task. The challenge in rational synthesis lies in the unknown mech-nanism for their formation: the relationship between the synthetic parameters and structural characteristics of thenproducts is not clear. In an effort to overcome these challenges, our group has built up a ZEOBANK, a database ofnzeolite structures and a database for their synthesis. ZEOBANK allows us to use data mining to find new methods fornguiding the synthesis of zeolitic materials.