Gerardo Majano

Scalable Room‐Temperature Conversion of Copper(II) Hydroxide into HKUST‐1 (Cu3(btc)2)

Copper(II) hydroxide is converted directly to HKUST-1 (Cu(3) (btc)(2) ) after only 5 min at room-temperature in aqueous ethanolic solution without the need of additional solvents. Scale up to the kilogram scale does not influence porous properties yielding pure-phase product with a remarkable total surface area exceeding 1700 m(2) g(-1) featuring aggregates of nanometer-sized crystals (<600 nm) and extremely high space-time yields.

Assembly of a hierarchical zeolite-silica composite by spray drying

We report a one-step spray drying synthesis of a multimodal composite based on a polymer-templated silica matrix enclosing a mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite. The first level of porosity, comprising the silica matrix with 13–25 nm mesopores, is generated by evaporation-induced assembly of the silica nanoparticles together with the non-ionic surfactant using spray drying. The mesoporous zeolite contributes with micropores (0.56 mm) and intracrystalline mesopores (∼7 nm) introduced by controlled alkaline leaching. The nanostructured composite, featuring agglomerated zeolite microgranules uniformly covered by the silica, displayed tuneable properties of the matrix mesoporosity and particle size by changing both the silica source and the spray drying conditions. The structural and acidic properties of the zeolite phase were not altered by the assembly method. The technique was successfully applied to other zeolite structures (USY, mordenite and ferrierite) with no impact in the characteristics of the matrix. This fast, versatile, reproducible, economical and scalable technique represents a powerful strategy for creating hierarchically structured materials with adjustable micro-, meso- and macroporous properties and enhanced agglomeration.

Mineral oil regeneration using selective molecular sieves as sorbents.

Microporous molecular sieves are investigated as effective, environmentally safe and cost effective materials for purification of lubricants in late stages of oxidation and also as an alternative to traditional anti-oxidant additives. Molecular sieve crystals with LTL- and BEA-type structures with variable morphology and silica content are used to trap oxidation by-products. It has been found that the aluminum content and the type of charge balancing cations in the molecular sieves play an important role on the amount of organic adsorbed due to a higher affinity of strong Brønsted acid sites and surface cations to hydrocarbons and carbonyl moieties. High selectivity of the molecular sieves towards oxidation products was achieved without influencing additive compounds in the oxidized oil, and thus results in high degrees in oil purification up to 90% depending on the oil formulation. The influence of treatment factors such as temperature, treatment time, solid content and type of oil were investigated. The sorption properties of two different molecular sieves capable of removing selectively the oxidation products, and thus effectively leading to purification in the early and late stages of oxidation, but also to slow down the oxidation process of oils are demonstrated. The considered molecular sieve materials are environmentally safe, cost effective, and due to their high thermal stability are adequate for recovery and multi-cycle reuse.