Zhang Zongtao

Sustainable Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous Silicalite-1 Zeolite by Steam-assisted Crystallization of Solid Raw Materials Without Secondary Templates

Hierarchical silicalite-1 zeolites were obtained from the direct conversion of a mixture of ground solid raw materials via a steam-assisted crystallization(SAC) method without involvement of any mesoscale template. Only a trace amount of water was necessary during the crystallization, implying that the amount of water can be dramatically reduced, which still offers easy separation and high yields. The simple procedure involved only grinding and heating, which not only saves resources and energy, but also significantly reduces the discharge of eco-friendly synthesis of zeolites for practical applications. Compared to conventional bulk silicalite-1, the nanosized hierarchical zeolites with MFI structure show enhanced removal capabilities for methylene blue owing to their hierarchical porosity.

Synthesis and Visible-light Photocatalytic Performance of C-doped Nb 2 O 5 with High Surface Area

C-doped Nb2O5 with abundant mesopores has been successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal synthetic strategy followed by calcination treatment. The resulting C-doped Nb2O5 displayed the highest BET surface area(345 m2/g) and large mesopore size(ca. 4.2 nm), capable of offering more accessible active sites as well as faster mass transfer for catalysis. Besides, the doping of C(2.21%, molar fraction) at the O sites in Nb2O5 lattice greatly enhanced visible-light response by lowering the band gap, thereby making the material a photocatalyst under visible-light irradiation. Typically, the C-doped Nb2O5 exhibited a high H2 evolution rate of ca. 39.10 μmol·g–1·h–1 and also degraded RhB dye completely after 30 min of visible light exposure, which turned out to be much better than Degussa P25 and pure Nb2O5 catalysts.