The synthesis of mordenite zeolite crystals by microwave heating (MH) was investigated and compared with the case by conventional heating (CH). It was found that microwave heating could not only accelerate the formation rate of mordenite crystals, but also enhance purity and surface areas of the crystals as compared with conventional heating. Highly crystalline and pure mordenite crystals were obtained after hydrothermal synthesis of only 6 h at 190 °C by microwave heating, whereas pure mordenite crystals could not be obtained even after hydrothermal treatment of 72 h at the same temperature by conventional heating.

The effect of hydrothermal post-treatment in the hydrochloric acid solution was investigated on the pervaporation performance of mordenite membranes, with an emphasis on the influence of the acid concentration. The mordenite membrane with the water/ethanol separation factor of higher than 10,000 was successfully prepared via hydrothermal post-treatment in the hydrochloric acid solution of 0.2 mol dm−3. The change in the pervaporation performance of mordenite membranes upon hydrothermal post-treatment was discussed.

The influence of post-treatment of as-synthesized mordenite membranes in the hydrochloric acid solution was investigated on the membrane pervaporation performance for the separation of a water/ethanol mixture. It was shown that the water/ethanol separation factor of as-synthesized mordenite membranes could be greatly improved upon post-treatment with hydrochloric acid under controlled conditions. The change in the pervaporation performance of mordenite membranes upon post-treatment was discussed.

The preparation of FAU-type zeolite films on FeCrAl grids by hydrothermal synthesis was studied with an emphasis on effects of ageing of the synthesis mixture, seeding of the support and addition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in the seed solution. The catalytic activity of FAU-type zeolite films was evaluated for cracking of a model endothermic fuel (n-octane). The results show that coating of the support with Y-type zeolite seeds could increase the loading of zeolite crystals on the support and thus facilitate to grow a continuous and dense FAU-type zeolite film around the wire, especially using an aged synthesis mixture. Under the same synthesis conditions, the loading of zeolite crystals was enhanced using a PVA-containing seed solution for seeding. The initial conversion of n-octane at 500°C was higher over FAU-type zeolite films (7.2%–13.2%) than that over the bare support (4.4%). The activity of zeolite films depends on not only the loading of zeolite crystals but also the morphology of the film.

The influence of post-treatment of as-synthesized mordenite membranes in the hydrochloric acid solution was investigated on the membrane pervaporation performance for the separation of a water/ethanol mixture. It was shown that the water/ethanol separation factor of as-synthesized mordenite membranes could be greatly improved upon post-treatment with hydrochloric acid under controlled conditions. The change in the pervaporation performance of mordenite membranes upon post-treatment was discussed.

•Silane-capped boron nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully produced via surface modification of boron NPs with a silane.•Silane-capped boron NPs are highly dispersible and stable in decalin.•Silane-capped boron NPs are stable against air oxidization.•The formation mechanism of silane-capped boron NPs was proposed.This study describes a method to produce silane-capped boron nanoparticles (NPs) based on surface modification of boron NPs with a silane. These silane-capped boron NPs are highly dispersible in liquid hydrocarbon fuels such as decalin, thus can enhance the energy content of liquid fuels. The experimental conditions for surface modification were optimized. Silane-capped boron NPs were characterized by means of various techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that the oxide layer resident on the surface of boron NPs is essential to obtain silane-capped boron NPs. The suspension containing silane-capped boron NPs (1 wt%) and decalin are highly stable. No obvious sedimentation was observed even after standing for two months. Silane-capped boron NPs were also stable against air oxidation. The formation mechanism of silane-capped boron NPs was proposed.