%0 Journal Article
%T Ordered Porous Nanomaterials: The Merit of Small
%A ¨˘ngel Berenguer Murcia
%J ISRN Nanotechnology
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/257047
%X This paper will introduce the reader to some of the ˇ°classicalˇ± and ˇ°newˇ± families of ordered porous materials which have arisen throughout the past decades and/or years. From what is perhaps the best-known family of zeolites, which even now to this day is under constant research, to the exciting new family of hierarchical porous materials, the number of strategies, structures, porous textures, and potential applications grows with every passing day. We will attempt to put these new families into perspective from a synthetic and applied point of view in order to give the reader as broad a perspective as possible into these exciting materials. ˇ°This work is dedicated to Professor Vicente Berenguer-Navarroˇ± 1. Introduction Considering the history of mankind, its development is unavoidably linked to technology, more precisely to the development of materials and methods which have enabled us to go beyond our own frontiers. Focusing more on the matter at hand, which is porous materials, we can find several remarkable examples throughout ancient and modern history about the use of porous carbon materials for a wide variety of applications. For instance, in 3700 BC we find the earliest use of a porous form of carbon. Charcoal was used by Egyptians and Sumerians for the reduction of different metal ores (mainly copper, tin, and zinc) in the manufacture of bronze. This material was also used as domestic smokeless fuel. This example alone clearly shows how even some of the most advanced civilizations of their time have employed porous materials in their technological tree. The earliest recorded example in which porosity of the material comes fully into play is in 1500 BC, in Egyptian papyri describing the use of charcoal to adsorb odorous vapors from infected wounds and from within the intestinal tract. The fact that we find these very early examples linked to a civilization which dominated a vast empire for several thousands of years should come as no coincidence. In 450 BC we can find excellent examples of how the porosity of carbon materials is employed as a means to purify drinking water in Hindu documentation and in Phoenician trading ship records. In 400 BC Hippocrates and Pliny the Elder recorded the use of charcoal to treat a wide range of illnesses and maladies including epilepsy, chlorosis, and anthrax. In short, porous materials have greatly helped modern civilizations from the very infancy of mankind, and even if in ancient times the people could only guess as to how or why they worked, the fact is that their usefulness is very well documented.
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.nanotechnology/2013/257047/