•The hierarchical zeolite has micro/meso bimodal pore structures.•High content of CuO NPs were incorporated into the hierarchical zeolite.•The modified electrode exhibits the excellent electrocatalysis to glucose oxidation in alkaline.A hierarchical MFI zeolite, with typical micro/meso bimodal pore structures, was prepared by desilication method. CuO nanoparticles (NPs) were incorporated into the hierarchical MFI zeolite by impregnation method. CuO/hierarchical zeolite composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen sorption. It is shown that the CuO nanoparticles are mostly dispersed in the mesopores with remaining of the crystallinity and morphology of the host zeolite. CuO nanoparticles located in hierarchical zeolite exhibit the excellent electrocatalytic performances to oxidation of glucose in alkaline media. The electrocatalytic activity enhances with increasing the loading content of CuO from 5% to 15%. The composites were fabricated for nonenzyme glucose sensing. Under the optimal conditions, the sensor shows a wide linear range from 5 × 10−7 to 1.84 × 10−2 M with a low detection limit of 3.7 × 10−7 M. The sensor also exhibits good repeatability, long-term stability as well as high selectivity against interfering species.

Nanosized zeolite beta with a tuneable crystal morphology and size, rich intercrystalline mesoporosity and high catalytic activity for low-density polyethylene cracking, was fast transformed from a low-seeded, low-templated dry gel by a seeding-steam-assisted conversion method with a small quantity of water; the crystallization of zeolite beta is well induced within 28 h at a TEAOH/SiO2 of 0.1 with the aid of 1% seeds.

Mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite incorporating ZnO in mesopores has been synthesized with a simple route. The commercial H-ZSM-5 (Si/Al = 50) was first treated with NaOH solution to induce a partial desilication, which can introduce a large number of intracrystal mesopores, and the ZnO nanoparticles were successfully incorporated in the mesopores with wet impregnation method. Characterizations of XRD, UV–visible absorption spectra, TEM and N2 adsorption were taken to analyze the locations of ZnO nanoparticles. The mesopores can load more than 15% ZnO with the size of about 20 nm, which can only reduce the mesopore surface area and volume, whereas, micropores are remained and cannot be blocked by the loaded ZnO particles.Graphical abstractThe BET total surface areas and mesopore surface areas decrease in linearity as the ZnO contents increase from 0% to 20%, whereas, the micropore surface areas remain around 200 m2/g, indicating that the ZnO nanoparticles are mainly located in the mesopores of HZOH even the ZnO contents higher than 20%.Highlights► Mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite was synthesized with the desilication method by NaOH solution. ► The nanosized ZnO was introduced in the mesopores by the wet impregnation method. ► The mesopores can load more than 15% ZnO with the size of about 20 nm. ► The ZnO nanoparticles only reduce the mesopore surface area and volume.

•The ZSM-5 aggregates composed of nanosized crystals of about 10–40 nm have been synthesized by a solvent-free method.•The synthesis was conducted through mixing the solid raw materials of anhydrous silica and aluminum sources, template and Na2CO3·10H2O, followed by thermal treatment in an autoclave.•The products possess the micro-/meso- porous structure, which is beneficial for enhancing the catalytic activity in LDPE cracking.In the traditional hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites, the solvent of water is necessary for crystallization, so large amount of wastewater containing NaOH and organic pollutants could be inevitably produced. The solvent-free route is considered to remarkably enhance the synthesis efficiency and reduce the energy and pollutants in large scale production of zeolites, but the zeolites obtained usually consist of micrometer sized single crystals which only possess micropores and long diffusion pathway for molecules. In this study, a novel solvent-free synthesis system made of solid raw materials of anhydrous silica and aluminum sources, organic template and Na2CO3·10H2O, was demonstrated to synthesize ZSM-5 zeolite particles composed of nanocrystals of about 10–40 nm in size. The obtained ZSM-5 particles possess high crystallinity and surface area, and well-developed mesoporosity (5.2 nm) and excellent catalytic activity in polymer cracking, such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is the main source of white pollution. The ZSM-5 aggregate particles with the micro-/meso- porous structure have the potential used as catalysts and adsorbents in industry.A simple but powerful solvent-free method was demonstrated to synthesize ZSM-5 aggregates composed of zeolite nanocrystals in size of 10–40 nm, which exhibit an excellent catalytic activity in cracking of low-density polyethylene.

Nanosized zeolite beta with a tuneable crystal morphology and size, rich intercrystalline mesoporosity and high catalytic activity for low-density polyethylene cracking, was fast transformed from a low-seeded, low-templated dry gel by a seeding-steam-assisted conversion method with a small quantity of water; the crystallization of zeolite beta is well induced within 28 h at a TEAOH/SiO2 of 0.1 with the aid of 1% seeds.