| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S67050/01 |
| Title: |
3D Porous Crystals of Transition Metal Oxides |
| Principal Investigator: |
Zhou, Professor W |
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| Department: |
Chemistry |
| Organisation: |
University of St Andrews |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 October 2003 |
Ends: |
30 September 2006 |
Value (£): |
100,981
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
Materials Synthesis & Growth |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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A conventional nanoparticle catalyst has to be supported on a substrate in order to avoid self-aggregation and to maintain a large surface area. This problem may be overcome in a new type of materials named 3 dimensional porous crystals. We found that, if crystal growth of transition metal oxides takes place inside a 3 dimensional mesoporous system, the final products can be regarded as single crystals which are carved with a regular pattern. The materials have properties of nanoparticles, large surface area and nanoscale pores, forming an ideal form of self-supported catalysts with probably both high activities and high selectivities. Immediate support for a Ph.D. student is therfore requested to develop and understand this synthetic method and assess its potential for future applications. 3D porous crystals of several metal oxides will be fabricated using various mesoporous silicas as templates. Formation mechanisms will be studied by examinations of intermediate phases and the final structures of these materials be investigated using XRD, HRTEM. Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane will be performed using selected products as self-supported catalysts in order to find any improvements of the catalytic behaviour compared with the normal polycrystalline metal oxides or with the supported nanoparticle oxides.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.st-and.ac.uk |