Zeolite nanocrystals inside mesoporous TUD-1: A high-performance catalytic composite

A hierarchically structured composite material with interconnecting meso- and micropores has been developed with the aim to optimize zeolite performance. A general synthetic method has been developed that, in a controlled manner, allows for various types of nanosized zeolite to be incorporated into a three-dimensional mesoporous matrix. Nanosized zeolite Beta was used to exemplify this new approach, resulting in a system in which zeolite Beta shows a higher cracking activity per gram of zeolite than pure nanosized zeolite Beta for the model feed n-hexane. Additionally, FTIR studies of CO and NH ₃ adsorption revealed that the nature of the acid sites in the nanozeolite has been partially modified due to the interactions with the mesoporous matrix, TUD-1.