Summary
Zeolites are a class of crystalline materials with three-dimensional (3D) framework structures that form uniform micropores. Because the size of the pore windows is comparable to molecular dimensions, they can function as “molecular sieves” by adsorbing molecules that fit inside the pores and excluding larger ones. A small change in the dimension of the pore architecture (channels or cavities in the zeolite) sometimes makes the difference between success and failure in adsorption or catalytic conversion applications. This is why efforts have been made to synthesize zeolites with a variety of different framework structures and compositions. Discovering new zeolites is not trivial, especially for large-pore zeolites with thermal stability and strong acidity under harsh processing conditions. On page 104 of this issue, Lee et al. (1) report two thermally stable, large-pore aluminosilicate zeolites.
