Mesoporous sulfate-zr-carbon nanomaterial: a new chemically active species.

Abstract

In this work, we report the successful preparation of a nanomaterial with acidic properties from sulfated zirconium functionalized mesoporous carbon (SZr-MC). SZr-MC presents a new chemical species formed by bonding Carbon with sulfated Zirconium (Zr): C-O-Zr- H2SO4 and C-Zr (H2SO4)-C. It has a surface area of approximately 1300 m2 g-1, and a total pore volume of 0.94 cm3g-1, composed mainly of mesopores with an average pore size of 3.5 nm. The surface composition and chemical states of the elements did not reveal that ZrO2 was an isolated cluster. A new nanomaterial based on mesoporous carbons modified with sulfated Zr was developed, which opens up a wide range of acid-catalyzed reactions applied to biomedical engineering.