Advances in the synthesis of titanosilicates: From the medium pore TS-1 zeolite to highly-accessible ordered materials

•The discovery of TS-1 opened the industrial interest on Ti-silicates.•Ti-silicates are green heterogeneous catalysts for selective oxidations.•Synthesis rationalization results in improved large-pore Ti-silicate catalysts.

In the present review, we would like to cover the most fundamental advances achieved in the design of ordered titanosilicates since the earlier discovery of TS-1 reported by EniChem in the mid-eighties. The invention of the medium-pore TS-1 zeolite was a breakthrough, and this material has been applied as efficient catalyst in diverse industrial applications. However, its limited pore size (5–5.5 Å) offers diffusion limitations when working with large molecules. The design and preparation of open titanosilicates, such as large pore molecular sieves, mesoporous ordered materials, or layered-type zeolites will be described. The applicability of these titanosilicates to catalytic oxidation processes requiring bulky organic molecules will also be presented.

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