Synthesis of Solid Catalysts

The worldwide market for heterogeneous catalysts amounts to about 12 billion US$ per year. The use of these catalysts in energy conversion, chemicals manufacturing and environmental processes saves time and money, expanding the margin generated by an estimated 100-300 times. Heterogeneous catalysts may be considered the most important nanostructured materials and their preparation is thus of paramount importance. This practical book combines recent progress with a discussion of the general aspects of catalyst preparation. The first part deals with the basic principles of heterogeneous catalyst preparation, explaining the main aspects of sol-gel chemistry and interfacial chemistry, followed by such techniques as co-precipitation and immobilization. New tools for catalyst preparation, including microspectroscopy and high-throughput experimentation, are also taken into account. The second part heightens the practical relevance by providing ten case studies on such hot topics as the preparation of zeolites, hydrotreating catalysts, methanol catalyst and gold catalysts.