Synthesis and Characterization of Microporous Silica Prepared with Sodium Silicate and Organosilane Compounds

Microporous silica gels were prepared in the pH range of 3–4 using sodium silicate as a silica source. Surface polarity of these gels was modified by grafting hydrophobic groups into the silica gel matrix with the help of hydrophilic solvents (acetone, acetonitrile, ethanol and methanol) and alkoxysilane compounds containing nonhydrolyzable alkyl groups. The porous framework and hydrophobicity of the silica gels were evaluated using nitrogen adsorption/desorption and water adsorption measurement techniques. All the measured isotherms were found to be type I which is indicative of microporosity. The surface area and microporosity of these samples were estimated by analyzing the measured nitrogen adsorption/desorption data using BET, Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption isotherms. The micropore size distribution was determined from their nitrogen adsorption isotherms using the slit-pore model of the Horvath-Kawazoe equation. Silica gels with high surface area (over 500 m²/g) as well as high microporosity (over 0.2 cc/g) were obtained at gelation pH of 3.50 from the water-solvent system.     

Effect of preparation pH on pore structure of silica gels

Surface characterization of silica gels prepared at different gelation pH from water glass and sulphuric acid were made by argon adsorption at 77 K using continuous volumetric method. While microporous silica gels prepared in the pH range of 1–3 had BET surface areas of 504–571 m² g^–1, total pore volumes of 0.26–0.31 cm³ g^–1 and micropore volumes of 0.16–0.23 cm³ g^–1, mesoporous silica gels prepared in the pH range of 3.36–0.65 had BET surface areas of 374–530 m² g^–1 and pore volumes of 0.61–0.79 cm³ g^–1.     

The H2S decomposition activity of supported MoS2 catalysts prepared via PFHS method

Silica-supported MoS₂ catalysts prepared via precipitation from homogeneous solution (PFHS) exhibited high surface areas (180–190 m² g^–1 and activities which were about twice those of the unsupported specimens. An 8% Mo catalyst showed optimum activity. The superior activity of the supported specimen was attributed to the higher population of active sites occasioned by the good dispersion during PFHS. TEM examination also confirmed the existence of small MoS₂ crystallites on the silica support.     

A New Synthetic Route to Microporous Silica with Well‐Defined Pores by Replication of a Metal–Organic Framework

Microporous amorphous hydrophobic silica materials with well‐defined pores were synthesized by replication of the metal–organic framework (MOF) [Cu₃(1,3,5‐benzenetricarboxylate)₂] (HKUST‐1). The silica replicas were obtained by using tetramethoxysilane or tetraethoxysilane as silica precursors and have a micro–meso binary pore system. The BET surface area, the micropore volume, and the mesopore volume of the silica replica, obtained by means of hydrothermal treatment at 423 K with tetraethoxysilane, are 620 m²g^?1, 0.18 mL g^?1, and 0.55 mL g^?1, respectively. Interestingly, the silica has micropores with a pore size of 0.55 nm that corresponds to the pore‐wall thickness of the template MOF. The silica replica is hydrophobic, as confirmed by adsorption analyses, although the replica has a certain amount of silanol groups. This hydrophobicity is due to the unique condensation environment of the silica precursors in the template MOF.     

FTIR Studies of the Adsorption of Acetic Acid on Silicas

A range of cesium doped silica samples (0.15 – 0.90 mmol g^–1) have been characterized using a combination of deuterium exchange and adsorption of acetic acid. FTIR results show a strong correlation between the carboxylate formation on acetic acid adsorption and catalyst activity. Cesium loadings of > 0.3 mmol g^–1 do not give any increased acetic acid adsorption, suggesting a saturation of the silica exchange capacity. Deuterium exchange studies demonstrate that 35% of the surface silanol groups on the fresh silica are rapidly exchanged with deuterated water at room temperature.     

Building block approach to organic/silica hybrid materials

The reaction of the cubic octameric silicate anion, Si₈O ₂₀ ^8– , with dimethyldichlorosilane in 2,2-dimethoxypropane yielded solid products. FT-IR and solid-state ²⁹Si NMR spectra of the products indicate that the silicate anion becomes cross-linked via the dimethylsilyl group without degradation of the cubic core, resulting in the formation of organic/silica hybrids consisting of the Si₈O ₂₀ ^8– structure as a building block. The hybrids are thermally stable up to ca. 380°C in air. The specific surface area of the hybrids is 31 m² g^–1, while the value increases to 339 m² g^–1 after calcination at 350°C in air. The process of increasing the surface area of the hybrids by the heat-treatment was investigated using solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.     

Physical Properties of Silica Aerogels Prepared with Polyethoxydisiloxanes

Silica aerogels were made by sol-gel techniques using industrial silicon derivatives (polyethoxydisiloxanes, E-40), followed by supercritical drying with ethanol. The morphology and microstructure of the silica aerogels were investigated by using specific surface area, S_BET, SEM, TEM and the pore size distribution techniques. The thermal conductivity was also measured as a function of air pressure. The results show that the diameter of the silica particles is about 13 nm and the pore size of the silica aerogels is 20–80 nm. The specific surface area of the silica aerogel is about 470 m²/g and the thermal conductivity of the silica aerogel prepared with E-40 is 0.014 w m^–1 K^–1 at room temperature and 1 atm.     

The effect of heat-treatment on the physico-chemical properties of silica aerogel prepared by sub-critical drying technique

Synthesis of transparent and crack-free monoliths of silica aerogel by sub-critical drying technique is reported in the present article. Silane ageing with 50% tetraethylorthosilicate:ethanol followed by solvent exchange using ethanol was adopted. The effect of heat-treatment on the textural and physical characteristics of silica aerogel was evaluated. The chosen composition resulted in a high surface area silica aerogel of 1,000 m² g⁻¹ and a pore volume of 1.4 cm³ g⁻¹ at room temperature. The aerogel heat-treated at 900 °C possessed a surface area of 450 m² g⁻¹ with a pore volume of 0.4 cm³ g⁻¹. The decrease in surface area and pore volume was associated with the sintering process. The present technique seems advantageous in preserving the high surface area of the material at high temperatures. The XRD studies showed that the amorphous nature of aerogel matrix was retained till 1,400 °C, beyond which it crystallized to phase pure crystoballite.     

High catalytic activity of ultrafine nanoporous palladium for electro-oxidation of methanol, ethanol, and formic acid

Nanoporous palladium (NPPd) with ultrafine ligament size of 3–6 nm was fabricated by dealloying of an Al–Pd alloy in an alkaline solution. Electrochemical measurements indicate that NPPd exhibits significantly high electrochemical active specific surface area (23 m² g⁻¹), and high catalytic activity for electro-oxidation of methanol, ethanol, and formic acid. Mass activities can reach 149, 148, 262 mA mg⁻¹ for the oxidation of methanol, ethanol and formic acid, respectively. Moreover, superior steady-state activities can be observed for all the electro-oxidation processes. NPPd will be a promising candidate for the anode catalyst for direct alcohol or formic acid fuel cells.     

Surface characterization of various silicas

In order to correlate the biological activity of silica to its surface properties, the analysis of surface sites on three kinds of silicas of different origins and textures has been performed by adsorption calorimetry. Mechanically micronized quartz (5.2 m²g^?1), an amorphous silica of low surface area (“Porasil F”; 16.1 m²g^?1) and a high surface area silica obtained by ignition (“Aerosil”; 380 m²g^?1) have been considered. The heat and mechanism of interaction of water vapour on the surface of quartz reveal a few highly reactive sites not present in the amorphous specimens. The surface behaviour of the latter two specimens is the same, in spite of the large difference in surface area. Radicals produced in quartz by mechanical grinding account for its reactivity and are correlated here to the fibrotic activity of quartz, as opposed to the non-fibrogenicity of amorphous silicas. The heats of interaction of amorphous and crystalline forms with proline also point to a reactivity on quartz that is absent from amorphous silica.     

Synthesis and characterization of silica xerogels obtained via fast sol–gel process

The synthesis and physical properties of high surface area silica xerogels obtained by a two-step sol–gel process in the absence of supercritical conditions are reported. The hydrolysis and condensation reactions were followed by infrared spectroscopy. The increment in the bands corresponding to silanol and hydroxyl groups suggests that the hydrolysis reaction was complete during the first 30 min. The effect on surface area and global reaction time under various reaction conditions, such as type of alkaline catalyst and solvents, water–monomer and solvent–monomer molar ratios, was also studied. The obtained results suggest that surface area was increased using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as catalyst. The use of isopropyl alcohol as solvent promotes the reduction of the capillary stress, giving a well-structured xerogel. As a conclusion, with H₂O/i-PrOH/TEOS in a molar ratio of 10:4:1, it was possible to obtain silica xerogels with surface areas about 1,240 m²/g. Such surface areas are comparable with those obtained under supercritical conditions (aerogels), and higher than those xerogels conventionally obtained under normal condition (500–800 m²/g).     

Microporous polymers based on triacetylarenes

Three-dimensional polymers are synthesized by polycondensation of triacetylarenes with the formation of 1,3,5-phentriyl and dimeric diphenylpropenone fragments. Microporous polyphenylenes with an intrinsic surface area of 650–690 m² g^–1 were obtained by additional heating at 450 °C. The values of the intrinsic surface area of polyphenylenes with rigid-chain rod-shaped inter-nodal fragments significantly exceed those of polyphenylenes with a flexible-chain inter-nodal fragments.     

The molar formation enthalpy of nano-SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> with different surface area

Three samples of silicon dioxide were syhthesized and their surface areas were measured. A thermo-chemical cycle was designed to calculate the molar formation enthalpy. The molar formation enthalpy, Δ_f H _m^Φ, for three amorphous silica with the Langmuir surface area 198.0854, 25.1108 and 11.9821 m² g⁻¹ gave −895.52, −910.86 and −915.67 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. With the increasing surface area, the values of Δ_f H _m^Φ increased accordingly. The results suggest that the silica with larger surface area is more unstable. The wetting heat was also measured by adding the silica powder into water. With the rehydration of the more SiOH groups on the surface, the larger surface areas of silica lead to the more wetting heat. A smaller particle has the more unstable hydroxyl groups and surface energy.     

Rapid Preparation of Mesoporous Methylsilsesquioxane Aerogels by Microwave Heating Technology

Microwave heating technology is known as an alternative to traditional gas and electric heating sources. In this work, mesoporous methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogels were prepared via a sol–gel process accompanied by microwave heating technology, and microwave heating was used in the gelation of sol and the drying of wet gels, respectively. The effects of hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) as a surfactant and template, hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a catalyst, ethanol as a solvent, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a gelation agent, and microwave power on the pore structure of as-prepared MSQ aerogels were investigated in detail. Microwave heating at low power results in the acceleration of sol–gel transition and achieves the gelation within a few minutes. Appropriate amounts of chemical reagents and microwave heating at high power allow the preparation of mesoporous MSQ aerogels with a BET-specific surface area of 681.6 m²·g⁻¹ and a mesopore size of 19 nm, and the resultant MSQ aerogel still has a BET specific surface area as high as 134 m²·g⁻¹ after heat treatment at 600 °C for 2 h, showing high thermal stability. The MSQ aerogels/fibre composite possesses a low thermal conductivity of 0.039 W/(m·k)⁻¹, displaying good thermal insulation. Microwave heating technology is a promising heating method for the preparation of other aerogels.     

Synthesis of Ti‐MCM‐41 directly from silatrane and titanium glycolate and its catalytic activity1

Titanium is successfully incorporated in hexagonal mesoporous silica to form Ti‐MCM41 at low temperature. Silatrane and titanium glycolate synthesized from the oxide one‐pot synthesis process are used as the precursors. Using the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a template, the resulting meso‐structure mimics the liquid‐crystal phase. The percentage of titanium loading is varied in the range 1–35%. The temperatures used in the preparation are 60 °C and 80 °C. After heat treatment, very high surface area mesoporous silica was obtained and characterized using diffuse reflectance UV (DRUV) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, X‐ray fluorescence, energy dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). At 35% titanium, the titanium atom is also in the framework showing the pattern of hexagonal mesostructure, as shown by DRUV, XRD and TEM results. The surface area is extraordinarily high, up to more than 2300 m² g^?1, and the pore volume is as high as 1.3 cm³ g^?1 for a titanium loading range of 1–5%. Oxidative bromination reaction using Ti‐MCM‐41 as catalyst showed impressive results, with the 60 °C catalysts having higher activity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Template-free sol–gel synthesis of microporous NiO–SiO2 composite with high surface area and narrow pore size distribution

Microporous NiO–SiO₂ composites were synthesized by a new sol–gel chemistry strategy using propylene oxide as gelation agent. Simple procedure, using of cheap precursor and high quality of the synthesized target materials were recognized as the advantages of the process. The obtained maximum pore surface area of the composites is about 718 m² g^?1 with narrow pore size distribution around 9 Å and micropore volume of 0.31 cm³ g^?1. It was found that the surface area of the samples decreases with the increase of Ni/Si molar ratio. However, the micropore size distributions of the samples were not altered with the increase of Ni/Si molar ratio. The unique chemistry of this sol–gel route assures the effectivity, simplicity and low cost of the whole process, showing the characteristics for the potential large scale preparation of microporous mixed oxide composites with very high pore area and very narrow pore size distribution.     

Surface characterization and heats of adsorption of chromatographic alumina gel

The porous nature of chromatographic alumina gel has been investigated by adsorption/condensation processes and electron microscopy. Having 63% porosity, the gel is very porous. Total pore volume as determined by the fluid-displacement method is 0.497 cm³ g^–1. Its specific surface area, as determined by water vapor adsorption, is 225 m² g^–1. Micropore volume, as determined by utilizing Gurwitsch's rule, turns out to be 0.262 cm³ g^–1. The greater portion of the surface area and pore volume occurs in small and transitional pores, with average pore radii (hydraulic) less than 2.1 nm.Organic vapors, such as methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, methyl acetate, and methyl alcohol, were adsorbed on the gel between 0 and 36°C under vacuum, and the data were recorded on a Cahn-1000 electrobalance device. Isosteric heats of adsorption were calculated by applying the Clausius Clapeyron equation to the adsorption isosters at different surface coverages. Two types of adsorption processes, one with low activation energy and other with high activation energy can be distinguished. The increase in values ofq _st indicates that increasing temperature changes physical adsorption into chemisorption.     

Hierarchical control of porous silica by pH adjustment: Alkyl polyamines as surfactants for bimodal silica synthesis and its carbon replica

Bimodal macro-mesoporous silica networks have been prepared in a simple one-pot synthesis using an inexpensive tetramine surfactant and tetraethoxysilane as a silica precursor. These novel materials show high pore volumes and templated mesopores (average pore size 3.0 nm) embedded in 20 nm thick walls forming interparticle large meso/macropores. The judicious control of the pH during the silica formation allows for the precise control of the interparticle condensation, likely due to the change in the interaction between the tetramine surfactant and the silica precursors. Finally, a highly porous carbon replica with bimodal porosity was prepared by using the bimodal silica as a hard sacrificial template. The microstructure of the silica template was accurately transferred to the carbon material obtaining high surface areas (up to 1300 m² g⁻¹) and total pore volumes ≥2 cm³ g⁻¹.     

MOR/SBA-15复合分子筛的合成、表征及其催化性能评价

采用MOR纳米晶和正硅酸四乙酯为硅源,P123三嵌段共聚物为模板剂水热合成MOR/SBA-15复合分子筛催化剂。采用XRD、SEM、TEM和EDX等手段对催化剂进行了表征,在固定床反应器中评价二甲醚制乙醇催化性能。结果表明,通过控制合适的MOR纳米晶种及MOR纳米晶种在SBA-15水热合成体系中的添加量,可以成功地将MOR纳米晶作为SBA-15的结构单元嫁接到SBA-15的介孔骨架中,水热合成的MOR/SBA-15复合分子筛催化剂同时具有MOR和SBA-15的XRD特征衍射峰,相比于SBA-15,其比表面积和总孔体积由756 m2·g~(-1),1.07 cm3·g~(-1)降低至628 m2·g~(-1),0.85 cm3·g~(-1),平均孔径由8.1 nm提高到9.3nm,Cu修饰的MOR/SBA-15复合分子筛催化剂同时具有Cu MOR羰基化和Cu SBA-15加氢的双功能催化性能,其催化剂评价结果显示二甲醚转化率为43.6%左右,乙醇选择性为95.3%,Cu MOR/SBA-15复合分子筛催化剂实现了二甲醚到乙醇的一步转化。     

High surface area silicon carbide from rice husk: A support material for catalysts

Ultrafine -SiC with high surface area (150 m² g^–1) has been synthesized by inflight processing of charred rice husk in a r.f. plasma reactor operating at atmospheric pressure. The plasma-synthesized particles were doped with platinum (1%) and tested as a catalytic support material. The catalyst (1% Pt doped -SiC) showed 100% conversion of CO to CO₂ at a temperature as low as 175°C.