Abstract:
Porous materials are the solids of great technological importance, due to their
ability to interact with gases and liquids, not only at the surface, but throughout their
bulk.1 Indeed, a porous materials mania is sweeping through essentially all the fields
of science and engineering.2 These porous solids constitute a rich and active research
field, owing to the fact that they are at the heart of several important applications
namely heterogeneous catalysis, gas storage/separation, water purification, adsorption
of pollutants, drug delivery, chromatography, earth science (the soil porosity confirM.S.
exchange between the soil and the atmosphere), energy (porous materials are envisaged
for hydrogen storage and lithium ion batteries) owing to their high surface area, large
pore volumes, chemical inertness, mechanical and good thermal stability.
