Oriented growth and assembly of zeolite crystals on substrates

The aligned array and thin film of zeolites and molecular sieves possess a variety of potential applications in membrane separation and catalysis, chemical sensors, and microelectronic devices. There are two main synthesis methods for manufacturing the aligned arrays and thin films of zeolites and molecular sieves, i.e. in situ hydrothermal reaction and self-assembly of crystal grains on substrates. Both of them have attracted much attention in the scientific community worldwide. A series of significant progress has been made in recent years. By the in situ hydrothermal synthesis, the oriented nucleation and growth of zeolite and molecular sieve crystals can be achieved by modifying the surface properties of substrates or by changing the composition of synthesis solutions, leading to the formation of uniformly oriented multicrystal-aligned arrays or thin films. On the other hand, the crystal grains of zeolites and molecular sieves can be assembled onto the substrate surface in required orientation using different bondages, for instance, the microstructure in the array or thin film can be controlled. This review is going to summarize and comment the significant results and progress reported recently in manufacturing highly covered and uniformly aligned arrays or thin films of zeolites and molecular sieves. It involves (1) in situ growth of highly aligned zeolite arrays and thin films via embedding functional groups on the substrate surface, modifying the surface microstructure of substrates, as well as varying the composition of synthesis solutions; (2) assembly of zeolite and molecular sieve crystals on various substrates to form aligned arrays and thin films with full coverage by covalent, ionic, and intermolecular coupling interactions between crystals and substrates; (3) coupling surface assembly with microcontact printing or photoetching technique to produce patterned zeolite arrays and thin films. Finally, the functionality and applications of zeolite arrays and thin films are briefly introduced. Some critical issues are addressed for future studies.