Mesoporous catalytic membranes: Synthetic control of pore size and wall composition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) on anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) is shown to be a facile, flexible route to the synthesis of catalytic membranes with precise control of pore wall composition and diameters. The oxidative dehydrogenation of cyclohexane was shown to depend strongly on pore diameter and to be more specific than similarly active alumina powder catalysts.