Fabrication of molecular sieve fibers by electrospinning

Abstract

Molecular sieves, such as zeolites and mesoporous materials, have been widely used in the fields of catalysis, adsorption, ion-exchange, and are finding new applications in optics, electronics, magnetism, medicine, etc. Molecular sieves with different morphologies or aggregation states, such as spheres, films, and fibers have been prepared to fulfil the need for various applications. Electrospinning offers a simple and straightforward way for generating ultrafine fibers with diameter in the range of nanometres to micrometres from a variety of materials. In recent decades, electrospinning has been introduced to prepare molecular sieve fibers. In this review, fibrous molecular sieves including zeolite fibers, siliceous and nonsiliceous mesoporous fibers prepared by electrospinning are summarized, and their prominent applications in optics, adsorptions, catalysis, etc. are highlighted.