Crystalline mesoporous metal oxide

Since the discovery of many types of mesoporous silicas, such as SBA-15, KIT-6, FDU-12 and SBA-16, porous crystalline transition metal oxides, such as Cr₂O₃, Co₃O₄, In₂O₃, NiO, CeO₂, WO₃, Fe₂O₃ and MnO₂, have been synthesized using the mesoporous silicas as hard templates. Several synthetic methods have been developed. These new porous materials have high potential applications in catalysis, Li-ion rechargeable batteries and gas sensors. This article gives a brief review of the research of porous crystals of metal oxides in the last four years.