Abstract:
The elevated interest in new materials as porous catalyst supports demands alternative strategies to improve yield of these systems through simple synthesis methodologies. In this work, different porous materials of MgO-MoO3/SBA-15 were synthesised at air, oven and microwave conditions to investigate and identify the best method for producing high surface area MgO-MoO3/SBA-15 catalyst. The results showed successful synthesis of mesoporous SBA-15 with homogenous dispersion of MgO-MoO3 nanocatalyst within the SBA-15 framework. The extent of crystallisation, the pore distribution and surface area was dependent on the crystallisation conditions adopted. The channels of the porous MgO-MoO3/SBA-15 network from the oven dry module were highly ordered, distinct and parallel. The oven drying crystallisation process module also yielded catalyst with surface area about ten folds higher than that of the air dry processes indicating that a given process module can be tailored for specific industrial application. The results also suggest that longer crystallisation time at temperatures in the range of 100 °C favours the formation of uniform pore structure with high surface area. © 2016, Hanyang University. All rights reserved.