"Nanoporous Materials III" contains the invited lectures and peer-reviewed oral and poster contributions to be presented at the 3rd Conference on Nanoporous Materials, which will be hosted in Ottawa, Canada, June 2002. The work covers complementary approaches to and recent advances in the field of nanostructured materials with pore sizes larger than 1nm, such as periodic mesoporous molecular sieves M41S and FSM16 and related materials including clays, carbon molecular sieves, colloidal crystal templated organic and inorganic materials, porous polymers and sol gels. The broad range of topics covered in relation to the synthesis and characterization of ordered mesoporous materials are of great importance for advanced adsorption, catalytic and separation processes as well as the development of nanotechnology.

The contents of this title are based on topics to be discussed by invited lecturers, which deal with periodic mesoporous organosilicas, stability and catalytic activity of aluminosilicate mesostructures, electron microscopy studies of ordered materials, imprinted polymers and highly porous metal-organic frameworks. The other contributions deal with tailoring the surface and structural properties of nanoporous materials, giving a detailed characterization as well as demonstrating their usefulness for advanced adsorption and catalytic applications.

The first symposium on Access in Nanoporous Materials was held in Lansing, Michigan on June 7-9, 1995. The five years that have passed since that initial meeting have brought remarkable advances in all aspects of this growing family of materials. In particular, impressive progress has been achieved in the area of novel self-assembled mesoporous materials, their synthesis, characterization and applications. The supramolecular self-assembly of various inorganic and organic species into ordered mesostructures became a powerful method for synthesis of mesoporous molecular sieves of tailored framework composition, pore structure, pore size and desired surface functionality for advanced applications in such areas as separation, adsorption, catalysis, environmental cleanup and nanotechnology.

In addition to mesostructured metal oxide molecular sieves prepared through supramolecular assembly pathways, clays, carbon molecular sieves, porous polymers, sol-gel and imprinted materials, as well as self-assembled organic and other zeolite-like materials, have captured the attention of materials researchers around the globe.

The contents of the current volume present a sampling of more than 150 oral and poster papers delivered at the Symposium on Access in Nanoporous Materials II held in Banff, Alberta on May 25-30, 2000. About 70% of the papers are devoted to the synthesis of siliceous mesoporous molecular sieves, their modification, characterization and applications, which represent the current research trend in nanoporous materials. The remaining contributions provide some indications on the future developments in the area of non-siliceous molecular sieves and related materials. This book reflects the current trends and advances in this area, which will certainly attract the attention of materials chemists in the 21st century.