SpringerBriefs in Materials Serena Esposito Sol–Gel Synthesis Strategies for Tailored Catalytic Materials SpringerBriefs in Materials Series Editors Sujata K. Bhatia,U niversity of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA Alain Diebold, Schenectady, NY, USA Juejun Hu, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA Kannan M. Krishnan,U niversity of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Dario Narducci, Department of Materials Science, University of Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy Suprakas Sinha Ray , Centre for Nanostructures Materials, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Brummeria, Pretoria, South Africa Gerhard Wilde, Altenberge, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany The SpringerBriefs Series in Materials presents highly relevant, concise monographs on a wide range of topics covering fundamental advances and new applications in the field. 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Serena Esposito Sol–Gel Synthesis Strategies for Tailored Catalytic Materials Serena Esposito Department of Applied Science and Technology and INSTM Unit Politecnico di Torino Turin, Italy ISSN 2192-1091 ISSN 2192-1105 (electronic) SpringerBriefs in Materials ISBN 978-3-031-20722-8 ISBN 978-3-031-20723-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20723-5 © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. 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This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To my mum, who taught me to never give up and to always believe that my future could be whatever I dreamt it to be. To my husband, my son and my daughter, who have always supported me Preface Provides an overview of the sol–gel synthesis of supported metal and metal oxide catalysts from the perspective of reliable, sustainable and cost-effective processes. Introduces sol–gel chemistry from its origins, and then gradually moves on to the most current fascinating strategies for the preparation of tailor-made catalysts. Organises and develops the different subjects in such a way that goes beyond theo- retical considerations and rather provides strategies for the rational design of high- performance catalysts, abandoning the time-consuming trial-and-error approach. Torino, Italy Serena Esposito vii About This Book This book provides the reader with an understanding of the basics of sol–gel chem- istry as a fundamental tool for the rational design of heterogeneous catalysts based on supported metals and metal oxides. One of the main objectives is to illustrate the versatility of sol–gel preparation, highlighting its advantages over other preparation methods. The reader is accompanied through each step of the sol–gel synthesis in order to show the impact that the process parameters have on the final product. In this regard, the reader is given some hints for the manipulation of structural, textural and morphological properties within the different types of chemistry that can be considered under the heading ‘sol–gel’. The target audience of this book is researchers working on the catalytic process who can benefit from knowing how to master the sol–gel synthesis method to prepare tailored and multifunctional inorganic catalysts. ix Contents 1 Introduction .................................................... 1 1.1 The Multifaceted Role of Oxides in Heterogeneous Cataly.si.s.... 2 1.2 Synthesis Approaches to Nanocatalysts......................... 3 1.2.1 Impregnation Method.................................. 5 1.2.2 (Co)precipitation Method .............................. 6 1.2.3 Hydrothermal/Solvothermal Process ..................... 6 1.3 Sol–Gel Chemistry for Oxides Preparation...................... 7 References ...................................................... 9 2 “Traditional” Sol–Gel: The Chemistry of Alkoxide.s............... 13 2.1 Hydrolysis and Condensation Reactions: An Overvie.w........... 13 2.2 Silicon Alkoxides ........................................... 14 2.2.1 Acid and Base Catalysis............................... 16 2.3 Transition Metal Alkoxides................................... 18 References ...................................................... 19 3 From (Sub)colloidal Growth to the Gel Structu.r.e................. 21 3.1 Polymeric Gel Versus Colloidal Ge.l........................... 21 3.2 Aging ...................................................... 24 3.3 Water Can Be a Strategic Paramete.r........................... 25 References ...................................................... 29 4 From Wet Gel to the Final Product: Draw Your W..a.y............ 33 4.1 Drying Methods............................................. 33 4.2 Thin Film Formation......................................... 36 References ...................................................... 40 5 Evolution of Sol–Gel Chemistry.................................. 43 5.1 Organic–Inorganic Hybrids ................................... 43 5.2 Non-hydrolitic Routes........................................ 46 5.3 The Pechini Method......................................... 48 References ...................................................... 50 xi