Mesoporous transition metal oxides: characterization and applications in heterogeneous catalysis

This highlight article is devoted to catalytic applications of mesoporous materials containing transition metal oxides (Ti, Nb and Ta). In general, these mesoporous molecular sieves (MMS) can be readily modified by doping with other elements, reduction or acid treatment to extend their applications in catalysis. We highlight some of the recent findings from our group focusing on the modification of existing mesoporous transition metal oxides, characterization of these new mesoporous structures and their respective surface properties, and the exploration of their potential catalytic applications in areas such as dinitrogen activation, benzylation, alkylation, and isomerization. Confinement effects and porosity are also discussed, which are known to strongly affect diffusion and catalytic properties, resulting in the existence of an optimal catalytic efficiency depending on pore size and internal surface area.