Sultan U, Städtke K, Göpfert A, Lemmen D, Metwali E, Maiti S, Schlumberger C, Yokosawa T, Apeleo Zubiri B, Spiecker E, Vogel N, Unruh T, Thommes M, Inayat A (2023)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2023
Book Volume: 1
Pages Range: 1449-1461
Journal Issue: 6
DOI: 10.1039/d3su00068k
Porous materials are widely used in applications such as adsorption, catalysis and separation. The use of expander molecules is a versatile route to enlarge the mesopore size in micellar templated mesoporous silica materials. Typical expanders used for this purpose are fossil-based organic molecules such as trimethylbenzene (TMB). In the course of making such syntheses greener and more sustainable, it is highly desirable to substitute such fossil-based chemicals with renewable ones. Here, we show that bio-based limonene can be used as an alternative expander molecule for the synthesis of large-pore templated silica. On the basis of electron microscopy, nitrogen physisorption and small angle X-ray scattering we show that the substitution of TMB by limonene leads to very similar material characteristics, reaching mean mesopore diameters of 17-19 nm. A comparative life-cycle assessment demonstrates the reduced environmental impact of limonene production from citrus peel waste compared to TMB production, supporting the call for more applications of renewable chemicals, ideally from waste-streams, also for the production of porous materials.
APA:
Sultan, U., Städtke, K., Göpfert, A., Lemmen, D., Metwali, E., Maiti, S.,... Inayat, A. (2023). Substituting fossil-based with bio-based chemicals: the case of limonene as a greener pore expander for micellar templated silica. RSC Sustainability, 1(6), 1449-1461. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3su00068k
MLA:
Sultan, Umair, et al. "Substituting fossil-based with bio-based chemicals: the case of limonene as a greener pore expander for micellar templated silica." RSC Sustainability 1.6 (2023): 1449-1461.
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