Greener syntheses of high-porosity high-surface area metal oxides: Utilization of biorenewable oil

Nanoporous metal oxides with high open porosity and high surface areas offer unique advantages in clean energy and environmental applications due to their internal nanostructures engineered in feature-sized bulk structures. The anticipated widespread use of the materials calls for innovative synthetic approaches that are inherently scalable, cost-effective, resource/energy-efficient and environmentally benign. To meet the demand, we have developed a new synthetic method that utilizes biorenewable oil or waste vegetable oil and produces both highly nanoporous metal oxides and combustion heat energy for possible electricity generation. Some exemplary materials produced from the method include highly porous γ-alumina, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and MgAl ₂O ₄ spinel materials with specific surface areas over 200 m ²/cm ³ and controlled average pore widths from 10 to 30 nm. The volume porosity ranges from 65 to 92 % depending on the materials and synthetic conditions. The details of the synthetic method and the properties of the product materials will be presented.