Recently, it has shown that silicon leaching can be also used to fabricate octadecasil nanocrystals (10¨C25 nm) with a high degree of intercrystalline porosity and a preserved structure.
As noted above, desilication mostly creates intracrystalline
porosity in channel-type zeolites such as ZSM-5, ZSM-12,
mordenite, and beta. Recently, it has shown that silicon
leaching can be also used to fabricate octadecasil nanocrystals
(10¨C25 nm) with a high degree of intercrystalline porosity
and a preserved structure.
114
Clathrasils, i.e.
zeolite-related materials consisting of window-connected
cages, are impenetrable to typical sorbate molecules such as
N2 or reactants such as hydrocarbons, and hence have no
prospective for catalytic applications. The zero-dimensional
character of these materials conditions the alkaline to operate
in a different manner, as the cages cannot be accessed.
Therefore, instead of attaining perforated crystals as in
channel-type zeolites, clathrasil crystals are fragmented and
peeled by the base, resulting in nanosized crystals. This widens
the scope of these compounds, opening room for application
as catalysts and/or catalyst supports