RECENT ADVANCES IN THE SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATIONS OF MESOPOROUS MOLECULAR-SIEVES

The past year has seen an explosive growth in research on mesoporous m olecular sieves. Major advances in understanding and exploiting the sy nthesis protocols and mechanism of formation of these materials have a llowed designed tailoring of their composition, pore size, structure a nd texture. The concept of 'supramolecular templating' with molecular aggregates of surfactants, which has been proposed as a mechanistic st ep in the formation of molecular sieves, has expanded our idea of the classical single molecular interaction. Well documented, simplified sy nthesis preparations of these materials have allowed study of their ap plication in fields ranging from catalytic conversion of large molecul es to their functioning as nanoscopic homes where polymers, atomic arr ays of metal atoms, and electronic materials can reside.