Introduction

The ability to create industrial strength catalytic materials with desired pore sizes and with a chemically modified surface of organic groups can improve efficiency and selectivity in existing industrial processes that modify vast volumes of fluid. Template agents (usually organic molecules or ions) direct the crystallization of the zeolite including resulting pore size and shape.

Description of Technology

This technology is a method for preparing a porous silica material with functional organic groups incorporated into the structure. Pore size can be controlled over a wide range through templating agents. The surface is functionalized with novel organofunctional bis-silyl mesostructures that have intermediate surface polarities. Approximately 20% of the pore surfaces can be modified with functional groups for enhanced selectivity and/or specific catalytic modalities.

Key Benefits

• Enhanced catalysis: Tunable porosity to optimize catalysis of a given fluid's dynamics and composition.
• Enhanced selectivity: Over 20% of silica framework surface is functionalized with selected organic functional groups for directed catalysis.
• Greater stability: Framework is steam stable and organofunctional groups are more stable than similar surface modifications introduced by grafting techniques.
• Integrable: Uses conventional processing and resulting material could replace existing catalytic materials.

Applications

Catalytic applications benefit from large reaction surfaces and molecular channels. Industrial catalysis is becoming important in the conversion of large molecules and in petroleum refinement as oil quality is becoming more diverse.

Other applications include molecular sieve for separations by particle size and/or chemical properties, as an adsorbent, or as a trap for metals.

Development Status

The invention is ready for a pilot production scale-up effort.

Patent Status

US 7067687 (issued Jun 27, 2006)
US 6713643 (issued Mar 30, 2004)

Inventors

Thomas Pinnavaia, Yutaka Mori

Tech ID

TEC2001-0041