ABSTRACT
Single source precursors (SSPs) method offers advantages over more established routes for the generation of nanostructured silicate and phosphate materials. These materials are useful for heterogeneous catalysts, catalyst supports, and electronics. Metal phosphates exist in nature as minerals or as constituents of living animals and play unique roles in biological processes. Although the building units of silicates and phosphates are chemically different, they are quite similar to each other in terms of structure and from the reactivity point of view. The primary use of alkali and alkaline earth metal siloxides lies in the synthesis of transition and main group metal siloxides. Vanadia−silica materials have been widely studied as catalysts for the selective oxidation of hydrocarbons, including the conversion of methane to formaldehyde and the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane and propane. Metallophosphates represent a class of interesting materials that are widely found in naturally occurring phosphate minerals.
