Silicon carbide foam as a porous support platform for catalytic applications

Abstract

This review provides an overview of the use of foam-structured SiC as a porous support platform in some typical catalytic processes both for gas-phase and liquid-phase reactions, such as H₂S selective oxidation, Friedel–Crafts benzoylation and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, where traditional catalysts have shown their weaknesses. The macroscopic thermally conductive SiC material could be efficiently employed as a support for controlling the active phase, i.e. metal and zeolite, and anchoring the powder-foam nanocarbons in the field of catalysis. In light of the results, one can state that silicon carbide foam could be regarded as an ideal alternative support, which provides a great enhancement of both the catalytic performance and the catalytic stability compared to that of the traditional catalysts, in several gas- and liquid-phase catalytic processes.