Molecular sieving properties of zeolites were reported in the beginning of the 20th century, but the commercial use of zeolites was later, being possible only because of their synthesis in laboratory and industry. The era of synthetic zeolites was heralded by prominent scientist R. M. Barrer who synthesized in 1948 synthetic analog of zeolite mordenite at high temperatures and pressures. Industrial scale synthesis of zeolites was introduced by Union Carbide yielding a new class of adsorbents and hydrocarbon conversion catalysts, favoring steadily appearance of new zeolites and new uses through the middle of the last century. Since then, an explosion of new molecular sieve structures and compositions from the aluminosilicate zeolites to the microporous silica polymorphs, the aluminophosphate-based polymorphs and metallosilicate compositions has continued, and now there are currently more than 200 unique zeolite framework types. But also new materials appeared and in 1992, the scientists of Mobil fulfilled a long-term expectation of researchers in catalysis and adsorption and extended to the mesopore-range the applications of molecular sieving, formerly limited to microporous zeolites, thanks to the discovery of MCM-41 and others MCM type of solids.

In the years of this century, new porous solids including hierarchical materials bearing micro- and meso-pores and inorganic-organic hybrid have been developed. Now, MOFs (metal organic frameworks) open new possibilities to the formation of nanochannels and nanocages by taking advantage of the spatially defined orientations of the coordinative bonds around metal ions and metal clusters. If this spatial orientation is combined with bi- or multipodal ligands that also force defined spatial directions to bind the metals, then, microporous metal-organic polymers are synthesised. These novel materials with nanoporosity exhibit the lowest framework density and the highest unit cell empty volume ever reported and can serve as nanoreservoirs for storage of gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Examples of how Chemistry can contribute to the science of ordered porous materials are the development of reliable synthetic methods for the preparation of solids with narrow pore size distribution of tailored dimensions. The development of ordered porous materials is founded on powerful experimental techniques and theoretical modeling which provide information on the structure and ordering of the atoms in the material, but also on the inhomogeneities and occurrence of specific sites active for catalysis. But the great success of molecular sieves is their wide range of industrial applications and now serve the petroleum refining, petrochemical and chemical process industries as selective catalysts, adsorbent and ion exchangers. Moreover, emergent applications of porous materials in fields such as Biomedicine and Nanotechnology have appeared.

The present Symposium, organized by Fundación Ramón Areces joined with the Zeolite Group of the Spanish Catalysis Society (GEZ) is focused on how chemistry is actively involved in the development of novel materials and the appearance of new disciplines that are at the crossing of Chemistry, Physics and Engineering, and more recently Biology. The lectures of the symposium will be delivered by researchers that have made cutting-edge contributions to the growth of porous materials from a chemical perspective.

Recent developments in the synthesis of new porous solids include the use of combinatorial methodologies, microwave heating, multiple organic structure directing agents (SDAs), concentrated fluoride media, complex design of templates, as well as the synthesis of nanozeolites, the fabrication of membranes and the synthesis in ionothermal media. It is clear that the present achievements of new materials could not have been possible without X-ray diffraction revealing long range ordering, and different microscopy techniques that provide images of the crystals. However, it is also important the contribution of other techniques which allow the characterization of solid surfaces, of sorption properties of the material and the identification of active sites for catalytic reactions. Zeolites illustrate how the catalytic activity, but also sorption and separation properties change dramatically with the pore architecture and the chemical composition.Application of Chemistry to the science of ordered porous materials can lead to the understanding of fundamentalphenomena and to optimize the performance on different applications.

Zeolites and porous solids can be used in many different fields from membranes for gas separation to catalysis, and those aspects will be presented in the Symposium. In this context, zeolites and porous solids contribute to a cleaner and safer environment in different ways. Zeolites can be used to separate gases, remove atmospheric pollutants and toxic substances and heavy metals from water. In catalysis, porous solids make chemical processes more efficient, minimizing the number of steps, increasing the process selectivity, saving energy and reducing pollution, but also searching for renewable energy resources alternative to fossil fuels. It is clear that in order to reach high efficiency all the components must have the appropriate spatial arrangement and dimensions, similarly as it happens in nature with enzymes.

Thus, this "ZeoForum: Forum on Innovations in Zeolites and Porous Solids" will provide authoritative and up-to-date vision of how currently Chemistry is being used to develop ordered porous materials, which is one of the hottest fronts in science in a very broad range of topics, to learn from first hand which are the present tendencies, challenges and problems in the area and, hopefully, to foresee the future achievements in the field.