A mesoporous material is a material containing pore

Pore

- Animal biology and microbiology :* Sweat pore, an anatomical structure of the skin of humans used for secretion of sweat* Canal pore, an anatomical structure that is part of the lateral line sense system of some aquatic organisms...

s with diameters between 2 and 50 nm.

Porous materials are classified into several kinds by their size. According to IUPAC

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations that represents chemists in individual countries. It is a member of the International Council for Science . The international headquarters of IUPAC is located in Zürich,...

 notation, microporous material

Microporous material

A microporous material is a material containing pores with diameters less than 2 nm.Porous materials are classified into several kinds by their size. According to IUPAC notation A microporous material is a material containing pores with diameters less than 2 nm.Porous materials are...

s have pore diameters of less than 2 nm and macroporous materials

Macropore

In soil, macropores are defined as cavities that are larger than 75 μm. Functionally, pores of this size host preferential soil solution flow and rapid transport of solutes and colloids. Macropores increase the hydraulic conductivity of soil, allowing water to infiltrate and drain quickly,...

 have pore diameters of greater than 50 nm; the mesoporous category thus lies in the middle.

Typical mesoporous materials include some kinds of silica

Mesoporous silica

Mesoporous silica is a form of silica and a recent development in nanotechnology. The most common types of mesoporous nanoparticles are MCM-41 and SBA-15. Research continues on the particles, which have applications in catalysis, drug delivery and imaging....

 and alumina

Aluminium oxide

Aluminium oxide is an amphoteric oxide with the chemical formula 23. It is commonly referred to as alumina, or corundum in its crystalline form, as well as many other names, reflecting its widespread occurrence in nature and industry...

 that have similarly-sized fine mesopores. Mesoporous oxides of niobium

Niobium

Niobium or columbium , is a chemical element with the symbol Nb and atomic number 41. It's a soft, grey, ductile transition metal, which is often found in the pyrochlore mineral, the main commercial source for niobium, and columbite...

, tantalum

Tantalum

Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...

, titanium

Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....

, zirconium

Zirconium

Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon. Its atomic mass is 91.224. It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium...

, cerium

Cerium

Cerium is a chemical element with the symbol Ce and atomic number 58. It is a soft, silvery, ductile metal which easily oxidizes in air. Cerium was named after the dwarf planet . Cerium is the most abundant of the rare earth elements, making up about 0.0046% of the Earth's crust by weight...

 and tin

Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...

 have also been reported. According to the IUPAC, a mesoporous material can be disordered or ordered in a mesostructure.

A procedure for producing mesoporous materials (silica) was patented around 1970. It went almost unnoticed and was reproduced in 1997. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were independently synthesized in 1990 by researchers in Japan. They were later produced also at Mobil Corporation laboratories and named Mobil Crystalline Materials

Mobil Composition of Matter

Mobil Composition of Matter is the initial name given for a series of mesoporous materials that were first synthesized by Mobil's researchers in 1992. MCM-41 and MCM-48 Mobil Composition of Matter (MCM) is the initial name given for a series of mesoporous materials that were first synthesized by...

, or MCM-41.

Since then, research in this field has steadily grown. Notable examples of prospective applications are catalysis

Catalysis

Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....

, sorption, gas sensing, ion exchange, optics

Optics

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...

, and photovoltaics

Photovoltaics

Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...

.

Tentative layout of this article

• Introduction to porous materials
• Mesoporous materials
• Synthetic pathways
  • Self-assembly
  • Templated self-assembly
  • Sol-gel processing
  • Dealumination of Al-rich aluminosilicates
  • Spray Drying Method
• Historical overview of mesoporous materials
  • MCM 41
  • SBA
• Synthesis of mesoporous materials
  • Model of mesostructure formation by ionic surfactants
  • Thermodynamic and kinetic considerations
  • Hybrid interfaces
  • Nonionic templating agents
  • Other structure-directing agents
  • Amphiphilic block copolymers
  • Mesostructured films
  • Technological importance
  • Fundamentals of EISA
  • Precursor solution
  • Film deposition
  • Post-processing
  • Selected examples
  • Applications
  • catalysis

See also

• Nanoporous materials
  Nanoporous
  Nanoporous materials consist of a regular organic or inorganic framework supporting a regular, porous structure. Pores are by definition roughly in the nanometre range, that is between 1x10−7 and 0.2x10−9 m.Subdivisions:...
  
  
• Mesoporous silica
  Mesoporous silica
  Mesoporous silica is a form of silica and a recent development in nanotechnology. The most common types of mesoporous nanoparticles are MCM-41 and SBA-15. Research continues on the particles, which have applications in catalysis, drug delivery and imaging....
  
  
• Silicon dioxide
  Silicon dioxide
  The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula '. It has been known for its hardness since antiquity...