Molecular simulation of RMM: ordered mesoporous SBA-15 type material having microporous ZSM-5 walls

SBA-15 is a novel porous material with uniform size mesopores arranged in a regular pattern. The adjacent mesopores are connected to each other by microporous walls. The major disadvantages of these materials are that the walls are amorphous and have low thermal, hydrothermal, and mechanical stability. Recently, there have been a few attempts to either coat the walls of SBA-15 by microporous crystalline zeolites or to fabricate SBA-15 using CMK-3 in such a way that the walls are made up of ZSM-5. The present work provides a first-ever study of RMM (replicated mesoporous materials, which are SBA-15 like ordered mesoporous materials with walls made up of ZSM-5) using molecular modeling. A random orientation of the unit cells and the distribution of sizes of the supercells located at nucleation sites would be ideal to model the RMM. However, such a study would introduce more uncertainties with regard to voids between the individual supercells, noncrystalline silica, and the location of active sites where the nucleation occurs. In a simpler model studied in the present work, the walls of SBA-15 were made up of regularly arranged ZSM-5 having the same orientation. The structure was characterized by estimating the nitrogen accessible area/volume by Connolly surfaces, small-angle and wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns, methane adsorption, and ice as a probe to study the pore structure. It was found that RMMs have significantly higher methane adsorption capacity compared to SBA-15 and the majority of methane is adsorbed in the microporous walls of RMM. Further research in the field of RMM is needed to obtain the details of zeolitic wall structure.