Inorganic, Hybridized and Living Macrocellular Foams: Out of the Box Heterogeneous Catalysis

With this personal account we show how the Integrative Chemistry, when combining the sol-gel process and concentrated emulsions, allows to trigger inorganic, hybrid or living materials when dedicated toward heterogeneous catalysis applications. In here we focus on 3D-macrocellular monolithic foams bearing hierarchical porosities and applications thereof toward heterogeneous catalysis where both activities and mass transport are enhanced. We thereby first depict the general background of emulsions, focusing on concentrated ones, acting as soft templates for the design of solid (HIPE) foams, HIPE being the acronym for High Internal Phase Emulsions while encompassing both sol-gel and polymer chemistry. Secondly we extend this approach toward the design of inorganic cellular materials labeled Si(HIPE) and hybrid organic-inorganic foams, labeled Organo-Si(HIPE), where heterogeneous catalysis applications are addressed considering acidic, metallic, enzymatic and bacterial-based modified Si-HIPE. Along, we will show how the fluid hydrodynamic within the macrocellular foams is offering advanced out of the box heterogeneous catalytic capabilities.