Modification of ceramic membranes by alcohol adsorption

This study aims at modifying ceramic membranes by means of alcohol chemisorption. Composite ceramic membranes with a skin layer of γ-alumina were used. First, the adsorption of several alcohol on powdered γ-alumina was investigated emphasising the thermal stability of the adsorbed compounds. Later, a commercial γ-alumina membrane was modified by alcohol adsorption. The permeability of water and several organic compounds was obtained for both the non-modified and modified ceramic membrane. Also, its isoelectric point was determined. The results prove that all the alcohol were readily adsorbed on powdered γ-alumina not only physically but also chemically forming an alkoxide. The chemisorbed alcohol was stable up to 200°C. Beyond this temperature, the alkoxide breaks up releasing the alcohol although the alkoxide also can react yielding an olefin or ether. The ceramic membrane was also successfully modified by alcohol adsorption. The layer of chemisorbed alcohol imparts hydrophobic characteristics to the membrane surface, so water permeability decreases significantly. This cannot be merely explained by pore size reduction due to the adsorbed layer. Thermal treatment at 250°C recovered original permeability with only minor damage to the membrane.     

Polydimethylsiloxane–cristobalite composite adhesive system for aerospace applications

The effect of phase‐pure cristobalite (a high temperature crystalline polymorph of silica) on the adhesive characteristics of hydroxyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was studied. The potential advantages of PDMS/cristobalite composite system as an adhesive for aerospace applications are also discussed. A PDMS/cristobalite composite adhesive system containing different filler contents (0–46 volume percentage, vol%) was prepared. The filler material, phase‐pure cristobalite, was synthesized by the pyrolysis of fused silica at 1400°C. The mechanical, rheological, and thermal characteristics of the composites were studied. A high yield stress (0.151 Pa), shear‐thinning index (1.051), and fast recovery rate were observed for ～34 vol% cristobalite loading, which indicate that PDMS retains its excellent adhesive and flow characteristics even at high filler loading with enhanced mechanical characteristics. Thermal analysis shows the onset of degradation of PDMS shifts to higher temperatures, 372–438°C and 317–417°C in nitrogen and air atmosphere respectively, which shows excellent thermal stability. The residual component yields after thermal degradation of PDMS/cristobalite composite system in nitrogen and air atmosphere show different degradation mechanisms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sulfonated silica‐based electrolyte nanocomposite membranes

New functionalized particles were prepared by attaching sulfonated aromatic bishydroxy compounds onto fumed silica surface. First, a bromophenyl group was introduced onto the silica surface by reaction of bromophenyltrimethoxysilane with fumed silica. Then, sulfonated bishydroxy aromatic compounds were chemically attached to the silica surface by nucleophilic substitution reactions. The structure of the modified silica was characterized by elemental analysis: ¹³C‐NMR, ²⁹Si‐NMR, and FTIR. Afterward, novel inorganic–organic electrolyte composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) have been developed using the sulfonated aromatic bishydroxy compounds chemically attached onto the fumed silica surface. The composite membrane prepared using silica with sulfonated hydroxytelechelic, containing 1,3,4‐oxadiazole units, has higher proton conductivity values in all range of temperatures (40–140 °C) than the membrane containing only the plain electrolyte polymer, while the methanol permeability determined by pervaporation experiment was unchanged. A proton conductivity up to 59 mS cm^?1 at 140 °C was obtained. The combination of these effects may lead to significant improvement in fuel cells (fed with hydrogen or methanol) at temperatures above 100 °C. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2278–2298, 2006     

Restraint of stress in fabricating the large areas of crack-free porous silica films in the presence of composite polydimethylsiloxane

To present a new method of fabricating the large areas of crack-free porous silica films by introduction of composite polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS). We employed two kinds of side-chain polyether modified by PDMS terminated with Si–CH₃ and Si–OC₂H₅ groups in preparation of large areas of porous silica films. The porous film presents a mesopore structure with a porosity of 58.0 %, which is fit for thermal-isolating layer applied in pyroelectric devices. The stress evolution on gel-to-ceramic film conversion has been investigated. The results reveal that a slow decrease in tensile stress before 250 °C and a slow increase after 250 °C can be observed, which is closely related to the alteration of chemical composition in the heat-treatment process. It is clear that the stress has been restrained with the addition of composite PDMS.     

The effect of impregnation conditions on the surface structure of silica-supported CuO catalysts

CuO/SiO₂ catalysts with varying amounts of copper were prepard using meso- and microporous silica supports at pH > 10 and pH = 4.5. Structural and textural changes were followed using X-ray diffraction, TG and DTA techniques. Impregnation for periods > 10 days at high pH produces crystalline catalysts with two distinct peaks at d-spacings of 2.33 and 2.03 Å resulting from a surface silicate which is structurally stable up to 800°C. At copper concentrations > 5% CuO also forms. Catalysts prepared at pH = 4.5 are amorphous to X-rays in spite of the presence of CuO which may either be < 50 Å or from a surface solid solution. The copper ammine complex, if adsorbed on mesoporous silica, attains its maximum coordination number as [Cu(NH₃)₄(H₂O)₂]²⁺, whereas on microporous silica it loses the two water molecules as a result of pore restrictions. The surface complex releases its coordinated ammonia exothermally in the temperature range 200–400°C, whereas chemisorbed ammonia is evolved endothermally at ～280°C. Ligand water is evolved at <200°C. An exotherm at ～545°C is observed for all catalysts, resulting form the shrinkage of the solid/void matrix which disappears upon aging. Increase of copper content to 22.7% at high pH lowered the temperature of constant weight attainment from 1000°C for the pure silica to 750°C.     

Deactivation by polysiloxane and phenyl containing disilazane: A 29SI CP-MAS NMR study after the formation of polysiloxane chains at the surface

A high degree of deactivation of glass and fused-silica capillary column walls is attainable by means of high temperature silylation (HTS) with or without a preceding leaching process. HTS with a phenyl containing disilazane, diphenyltetramethyldisilazane (DPTMDS), and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are studied on Cab-O-Sil, a fumed silica, as a model substrate. Using ²⁹Si CP-MAS NMR, it was shown that no dimethylsiloxane chains were formed upon silylation with DPTMDS under different conditions of humidity and stoichiometry at 377°C. With DPTMDS deactivation it is possible that amino trisiloxy silane groups are formed, these groups add extra activity to the surface. Silylation with a PDMS, OV 101, at various temperatures between 300°–420°C did show that dimethylsiloxane chains were bonded at the surface. Using the ²⁹Si CP-MAS NMR technique with variable contact times to reveal siloxy group mobility, the degradation of dimethylsiloxane chains at the surface was studied. PDMS degradation at an optimal temperature gives a more effective diminuation of the silane activity caused by chemical reaction with the silanol groups and the effective screening of the remaining silanol groups with anchored polydimethylsiloxane chains and small cyclodimethylsiloxane ring structures at the surface.     

Interaction of poly(ethylene oxide) with fumed silica

Interaction of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, 600 kDa) with fumed silica A-300 (SBET = 316 m2/g) was investigated under different conditions using adsorption, infrared (IR), thermal analysis (TG-DTA), AFM, and quantum chemical methods. The studied dried silica/PEO samples were also carbonized in a flow reactor at 773 K. The structural characteristics of fumed silica, PEO/silica, and pyrocarbon/fumed silica were investigated using nitrogen adsorption-desorption at 77.4 K. PEO adsorption isotherm depicts a high affinity of PEO to the fumed silica surface in aqueous medium. PEO adsorbed in the amount of 50 mg per gram of silica (PEO monolayer corresponds to CPEO approximately 190 mg/g) can disturb approximately 70% of isolated surface silanols. However, at the monolayer coverage, only 20% of oxygen atoms of PEO molecules take part in the hydrogen bonding with the surface silanols. An increase in the PEO amount adsorbed on fumed silica leads to a diminution of the specific surface area and contributions of micro- (pore radius R < 1 nm) and mesopores (1 < R < 25 nm) to the pore volume but contribution of macropores (R > 25 nm) increases with CPEO. Quantum chemical calculations of a complex of a PEO fragment with a tripple bond SiOH group of a silica cluster in the gas phase and with consideration for the solvent (water) effect show a reduction of interaction energy in the aqueous medium. However, the complex remains strong enough to provide durability of the PEO adsorption complexes on fumed silica; i.e., PEO/fumed silica nanocomposites could be stable in both gaseous and liquid media.     

Effects of the degree of surface modification on the rheological responses of precipitated silica suspensions in benzyl alcohol

Two types of precipitated silica powders modified by poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) were suspended in benzyl alcohol and their rheological properties were investigated as a function of silica volume fraction, φ. The suspensions were classified into sol, pre-gel, and gel states based on the increase in φ. An increase in the degree of surface modification by PDMS caused gelation at higher φ. Plots of apparent shear viscosity against shear rate in the sol and pre-gel states of highly modified silica suspensions showed weak shear thickening behavior, while the same plots for silica suspensions with a low modification level exhibited shear thinning behavior. The dynamic moduli of hydrophobic suspensions in the pre-gel and gel states were dependent on the surface modification: the storage modulus G′ was larger than the loss modulus G″ in the linear region and these moduli increased with increasing φ, irrespective of the silica powder. The linear region of the φ range for the precipitated silica suspensions was wider than that for the fumed silica powders modified by PDMS suspended in benzyl alcohol, while the G′ value in the linear region for the precipitated silica suspensions was less than those for the fumed silica suspensions.     

Performance improvement of EPDM and EPDM/Silicone rubber composites using modified fumed silica,titanium dioxide and graphene additives

In this work, a polymeric composite was prepared from ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) and silicone rubber (S) with additives of modified fumed silica (MFS), titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and graphene. The dielectric and thermal performances of the EPDM-based composites were studied. An increase in the dielectric constant and AC dielectric breakdown strength was observed for the EPDM rubber composites containing MFS, TiO_2, and graphene additives. In addition, the incorporation of the additives resulted7in a significant increase in the thermal stability (~30–50 °C) and thermal conductivity (~7–35%) of the composites. The combination of these various improvements gives suitable performance advantage to the polymeric composite for use in insulating applications.     

H(2)O Outgassing Properties of Fumed and Precipitated Silica Particles by Temperature-Programmed Desorption

Temperature-programmed desorption was performed at temperatures up to 850 K on as-received fumed and precipitated silica particles. Physisorbed water molecules on both types of silica had activation energies in the range of 38–61 kJ/mol. However, the activation energies of desorption for chemisorbed water varied from 80 to >247 kJ/mol for fumed silica, Cab-O-Sil-M-7D, and 96 to 155 kJ/mol for precipitated silica, Hi-Sil-233. Our results suggest that physisorbed water can be effectively pumped away at room temperature (or preferably at 320 K) in a matter of hours. Chemisorbed water with high activation energies of desorption (>126 kJ/mol) will not escape silica surfaces in 100 years even at 320 K, while a significant amount of the chemisorbed water with medium activation energies (80–109 kJ/mol) will leave the silica surfaces in that time span. Most of the chemisorbed water with activation energies <126 kJ/mol can be pumped away in a matter of days in a good vacuum environment at 500 K. We had previously measured about 0.1–0.4 wt% of water in silica-reinforced polysiloxane formulations containing 21% Cab-O-Sil-M-7D and 4% Hi-Sil-233. Comparing present results with these formulations, we conclude that the adsorbed H₂O and the Si–OH bonds on the silica surfaces are the major contributors to water outgassing from these types of silica-filled polymers.     

Effects of filler–polymer interactions on cold‐crystallization kinetics in crosslinked,silica‐filled polydimethylsiloxane/polydiphenylsiloxane copolymer melts

Crystallization in a series of variable crosslink density poly(dimethyl‐diphenyl)siloxanes random block copolymers reinforced through a mixture of precipitated and fumed silica fillers has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The silicone composite studied was composed of 94.6 mol % dimethoylsiloxane, 5.1 mol % diphenylsiloxane, and 0.3 mol % methyl‐vinyl siloxane (which formed crosslinking after peroxide cure). The polymer was filled with a mixture of 21.6 wt % fumed silica and 4.0 wt % precipitated silica previously treated with 6.8 wt % ethoxy‐end‐blocked siloxane processing aid. Molecular weight between crosslinks and filler–polymer interaction strength were modified by exposure to γ‐irradiation in either air or in vacuo. Isothermal DMA experiments illustrated that crystallization at ?85 °C occurred over a 1.8 hour period in silica‐filled systems and 2.2–2.6 hours in unfilled systems. The crystallization kinetics for irradiated samples were found to be dependent on crosslink density. Irradiation in vacuo resulted in faster overall crystallization rates compared to air irradiation for the same crosslink density, likely due to a reduction in the interaction between the polymer chains and the silica filler surface for samples irradiated in air. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1898–1906, 2006     

A Low-Frequency Infrared Study of the Reaction of Methoxymethylsilanes with Silica

A thin film infrared technique is used to observe bands due to hydrogen-bonded and chemisorbed methoxymethylsilanes on fumed silica in the low-frequency region below 1300 cm(-1). The low-frequency region contains the characteristic bands due to Si-O-Si, Si-O, Si-C, Si-CH(3), and SiO-C modes. Band assignments are aided by ab initio calculations and comparison to thin film experiments of adsorbed chloromethylsilanes. The spectral interpretation was expected to be more complicated than that of the corresponding chlorosilanes because the strong SiO-C alkoxy bands lie in the same region as the Si-O-Si bands. However, the SiO-C bands are weak in intensity when participating in hydrogen-bonding interactions enabling easy detection of the Si-O-Si bands due to chemisorbed species. By combining the low-frequency data with the spectral information for the hydroxyl region, a clearer picture of the nature of the bonding to the surface is obtained. When adsorbed at room temperature, all methoxy groups participate in hydrogen bonding with the surface hydroxyl groups. When the reaction is performed at 150 degrees C, the silanes are chemisorbed via a Si-O-Si bond and the remaining methoxy groups of the chemisorbed species are hydrogen bonded to the surface hydroxyl groups. At reaction temperature of 400 degrees C there is no evidence of hydrogen bonding but the spectra are complicated by the reaction of methanol with the surface. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Thermal Behavior of d‐Ribose Adsorbed on Silica: Effect of Inorganic Salt Coadsorption and Significance for Prebiotic Chemistry

Understanding ribose reactivity is a crucial step in the “RNA world” scenario because this molecule is a component of all extant nucleotides that make up RNA. In solution, ribose is unstable and susceptible to thermal destruction. We examined how ribose behaves upon thermal activation when adsorbed on silica, either alone or with the coadsorption of inorganic salts (MgCl₂, CaCl₂, SrCl₂, CuCl₂, FeCl₂, FeCl₃, ZnCl₂). A combination of ¹³C NMR, in situ IR, and TGA analyses revealed a variety of phenomena. When adsorbed alone, ribose remains stable up to 150 °C, at which point ring opening is observed, together with minor oxidation to a lactone. All the metal salts studied showed specific interactions with ribose after dehydration, resulting in the formation of polydentate metal ion complexes. Anomeric equilibria were affected, generally favoring ribofuranoses. Zn²⁺ stabilized ribose up to higher temperatures than bare silica (180 to 200 °C). Most other cations had an adverse effect on ribose stability, with ring opening already upon drying at 70 °C. In addition, alkaline earth cations catalyzed the dehydration of ribose to furfural and, to variable degrees, its further decarbonylation to furan. Transition‐metal ions with open d‐shells took part in redox reactions with ribose, either as reagents or as catalysts. These results allow the likelihood of prebiotic chemistry scenarios to be evaluated, and may also be of interest for the valorization of biomass‐derived carbohydrates by heterogeneous catalysis.     

DSC and spectroscopic investigation of human serum albumin adsorbed onto silica nanoparticles functionalized by amino groups

Human serum albumin (HSA) adsorbed onto silica nanoparticles modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, IR spectroscopy, and photon correlation spectroscopy. The structural alterations of the protein molecules induced from adsorption process were estimated on the basis of temperatures of denaturation transition (T _d) of the protein in free (native) and adsorbed form. It was found that adsorption of the protein onto the APTES-modified silica nanoparticles results in an increase in the temperature of denaturation transition from 42 to 47.4 °C. HSA adsorbed onto the PEI-modified silica nanoparticles unfolds extensively.     

INS and IR study of intermolecular interactions at the fumed silica-polydimethylsiloxane interphase, Part 3. Sicica-siloxane adsorption complexes

A vibration spectra study of the interphase fumed silica andpolydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) particles highlights the microscopic interactionmechanisms in the system. This study involves an extended examination of bothfree silica and PDMS components as well of their adsorption complexes. Thepresent paper, deals with the vibrational analysis of adsorption complexes ofpolymethylsiloxanes and hydrophilic or trimethylsiloxy silylated fumed silica.Vibrations have been investigated involving both experimental andcomputational approaches. Experiments were performed in the framework ofinfrared (FTIR) and inelastic neutron scattering (INS and AWDS) techniques.Spectral interpretation was carried out on the basis of quantum chemical (QCh)semiempirical calculations using AM1 and PM3 parameterisation, and applicationof an original software program for spectra analysis, COSPECO, involvingdirect and inverse spectral problem solutions and spectrum assignments. Indescribing the silica-PDMS interphase, dodecamethylpentasiloxane (Si5) hasbeen used as a linear model of polydimethylsiloxane; its adsorption atdifferent surface coverages on hydrophilic and trimethylsiloxy(TMS)-silylated fumed silicas has been studied. Both, the PDMS and silicacomponents in the adsorption complexes, have been examined using protonatedand deuterated methyl groups of substrate and adsorbate. Additionalinformation was evaluated from the adsorption of longer chain PDMS polymerson hydrophilic silica. The adxorption has a strong impact on the vibrationspectra of both the silica and siloxane. Additional impacts evolve from thedegree of silylation of the silica surface, and the siloxane coverage . The changes in the spectra can be attributed to immobilisation of theadsorbed siloxane on the silica surface, as well as to a `pressure' effect ofthe TMS units of the silica caused by adsorbed PDMS. In terms of interactionenergies, classical H-bonding shows a minor contribution, while Van-der-Waalsforces mainly govern the system; for the latter Si-O dipole interactions alsopay a dominant role.     

Physical properties of sol-gel derived poly(Vinylidene Fluoride)/Silica hybrid

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was incorporated in situ with silica by a sol-gel process involving tetraethoxysilane. The mechanical properties of these in situ hybrids were compared with those of PVDF composites mechanically blended with 14-nm diameter fumed silica particles. The ultimate strength of the in situ hybrids was higher than that of the blend composites, since fumed silica particles aggregate and act as mechanically weak points. The thermal analysis, dynamic viscoelastic properties, and dielectric properties were compared. The β-relaxation of PVDF caused by the glass transition was observed at around −40°C in the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the mechanical tan δ curves and at −30°C in the dielectric loss factor (ϵ”) curve. The αc-relaxation due to the molecular motion in the crystalline phase occurred at 61°C in DSC curve, at 100°C in the tan δ curve, and at 80°C in the ϵ” curve. The peak positions of these relaxations did not change, but the peak intensities were decreased with the increase in silica content for both the in situ hybrids and blend composites. The activation energies for PVDF were calculated as 136 kJ/mol for the β-relaxation and 96 kJ/mol for the αc-relaxation. The result that these activation energies did not depend on silica content may indicate the weak interaction between PVDF and silica.     

Surface hydroxylation and silane grafting on fumed and thermal silica

The optimization of the surface functionalization of flat thermal silicon oxide by silanes was investigated. The difficulties are the low density of silanols at the surface of thermal silica, the lack of precise knowledge of the actual surface chemistry of thermal silica and of its hydroxylation, and the limited number of possible chemical analyses at flat surfaces of small area. This steered our study toward a comparative investigation of the hydroxylation and silane grafting of thermal silica and the well-known fumed silica. The silane grafting density for fumed silica that had undergone thermal treatments of dehydroxylation was related to the surface density of silanols. The surface density of silane on the flat thermal silica as measured by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy was 1.4 micromol/m2, similar to that of fumed silica dehydroxylated at 1000 degrees C. This moderate value was related to the low silanol density present on such silica surfaces. Several rehydroxylation treatments that proved their efficiency on dehydroxylated fumed silica did not lead to any noticeable improvement on thermal silicon dioxide.     

Thermal analysis of two types of dextran-coated magnetite

The thermal stability of two kinds of dextran-coated magnetite (dextran with molecular weight of 40,000 (Dex40) and 70,000 (Dex70)), obtained by dextran adsorption onto the magnetite surface is investigated in comparison with free dextran in air and argon atmosphere. The thermal behavior of the two free dextran types and corresponding coated magnetites is similar, but atmosphere dependent. The magnetite catalyzes the thermal decomposition of dextran, the adsorbed dextran displaying lower initial decomposition temperatures comparative with the free one in both working atmospheres. The dextran adsorbed onto the magnetite surface decomposes in air through a strong sharp exothermic process up to ~450 °C while in argon atmosphere two endothermic stages are identified, one in the temperature range 160–450 °C and the other at 530–800 °C.     

A Study on the thermal destruction of rice husk in air and nitrogen atmosphere

The methods of X-ray analysis, infrared spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy were used in this study. The objects of the experiments were rice husk obtained during processing of rice, variety Krasnodarski 424. The rice husk was burnt in air and in non-oxygen medium at several burning temperatures. The color of the oxidized product was stipulated by the burning temperature. The X-ray analysis showed that the amorphous SiO₂ present in the rice husk begins to crystallize in the form of α-cristobalite at 850°C. Using differential thermal analysis, the thermal destruction of rice husk was studied in air and nitrogen media and the initial and final temperatures of the process were determined. The silica distribution was examined by scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopic techniques.