Solid Materials for Heterogeneous Catalysis

Abstract

Solid catalysts comprise multiple functionalities and often consist of several constituents including active components, supports, binders, and promoters. In the present chapter, the basic principles of the preparation of solid catalysts in view of the current state-of-the-art are comprehensively described. First, the most widely applied strategies for the preparation of solid supports including sol–gel-chemistry, (co)precipitation and pyrolysis/carbonization are presented. Then, the methods for immobilizing active components on a previously prepared support, i.e., impregnation, deposition precipitation and electrostatic adsorption, are described. A following section deals with the preparation principles of a wide span of bulk catalysts including (mixed) metal oxides, zeolites and related microporous materials, ordered mesoporous materials, materials with multimodal pore structure, and the more recently reported metal–organic and covalent organic frameworks, as well as porous metals. Considering the industrial importance of solid catalysts, methods for catalyst shaping are also presented. Future demands and challenges for catalyst preparation are outlined in a concluding section.