Nucleation and growth of zeolites and inorganic mesoporous solids: Molecular insights from magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Inorganic nano- and mesoporous materials can be prepared with a variety of compositions, structures, and macroscopic morphologies. Due to their wide range of properties and applications, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms governing their formation under different synthesis conditions is of particular interest. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy offers a variety of powerful and complementary techniques for acquiring insights on the molecular processes and structures that underly crystallization or self-assembly of these complex heterogeneous systems. This review examines contributions from NMR and EPR spectroscopy to the recent developments and current understanding in the nucleation and growth of nanoporous molecular sieves and mesoporous inorganic solids.