A Route to Thin Sheets of Zeolites (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

A Route to Thin Sheets of Zeolites

Caption

A team from the University of Minnesota describes the synthesis of suspensions containing zeolite nanosheets (precisely structured porous layers, a few atoms thick and thousands of atoms wide). Due to the molecular-sized pores crossing the film thickness, the nanosheets can act as selective flakes at the molecular level. High-performance membranes were synthesized by packing these selective flakes as shown in the figure. They can be used for significantly improving the energy efficiency of certain separation and purification processes in the chemical, petrochemical, and renewable chemicals and fuels industries. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Oct. 07, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by Dr. K. Varoon of University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn., and colleagues, was titled, “Dispersible Exfoliated Zeolite Nanosheets and Their Application as a Selective Membrane.”

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