Abstract
Microporous materials are well known and due to their unique properties in sorptive and catalytic processes also of still growing interest in research with regards to, e.g., targeted material synthesis and potential application in novel processes. Though, it is their microporosity which is in the first place the responsible property for the outstanding performance in sorption and catalysis, it is also its small pore size which thwarts the kinetic of such processes. This discrepancy is therefore the main driving force for the ongoing development of hierarchically porous materials. This article gives a basic description of microporous materials and their building blocks in general as well as the underlying principles of their preparation and additionally gives a review on the field of recent developments with special focus on hierarchically porous zeolites.