Photochromism of Peroxotungstic Acid/PVP Nanocomposite Obtained by Sol-Gel Method

Peroxotungstic acid (PTA)/PVP composite film was prepared via sol-gel method. TEM revealed that the composite films consist of peroxotungstic acid nano-grains embedded in amorphous PVP matrix. The samples were observed to exhibit reversible photochromic effect when irradiated with solar light. The iodometric titration and FT-IR spectra indicated the presence of peroxo groups (W–O–O–W) incorporated into PTA structure. EPR measurement revealed the presence of unpaired paramagnetic electrons in PTA/PVP nanocomposite gel. The UV-Vis-Nir transmittance spectra and EPR spectroscopy of sample indicate that the photochromic behaviour is due to the photo-excitation of the unpaired electrons at W–O octahedral sites of peroxotungstic acid.     

ESR Study of a Nitroxide Radical in Sol-Gel Glasses

A spin probe TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxy) was dissolved in a tetraethyl orthosilicate sol-gel reaction system and measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy at 295 K. The nitrogen hyperfine coupling constant was from 1.64–1.66 mT in the sol-gel solutions. The values were sensitive to the ethanol-to-water ratio of the solutions. The hyperfine coupling constant in the xerogels was 1.70 mT, which was almost the same as that in water, indicating that the probe molecules were trapped in silica pores with water adsorbed on the silica surfaces. The motion of TEMPOL in the xerogels was considerably slower than in the sol-gel solutions. The local viscosity estimated was from 70–90 cP. The ESR spectra of TEMPOL were altered during the sol-gel process, indicating that adsorbed water on the silicas surfaces has an important role for trapping organic molecules in sol-gel glasses.     

Preparation of Monolithic Ti‐incorporated Mesoporous Silica Materials via Tartaric Acid Templated Sol‐gel Process

Monolithic and transparent Ti‐incorporated mesoporous silica materials of large size (e.g. 2 mm) in dimension have been prepared with tartaric add (TA) as template via sol‐gel reactions of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and tetrabutyl titanate (TBT). The materials are characterized by infrared (IR), nitrogen adsorption‐desorption isotherms, powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the monolithic materials exhibit large specific surface areas (ca. 1200 mVg) and pore volumes (ca. 0.900 cm³/g).     

溶胶凝胶法制备超疏水二氧化硅涂膜及其表面润湿行为

采用溶胶-凝胶法以正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)和甲基三乙氧基硅烷(MTES)为前驱体制备超疏水SiO2涂层。红外光谱(FTIR)和热重分析(TGA)表征合成SiO2的化学组成,通过透射电镜(TEM)和扫描电镜(TEM)观察制备SiO2的结构形貌,扫描电镜(SEM)和原子力显微镜(AFM)观察SiO2涂膜的表面形貌,通过测试水接触角(WCA)讨论SiO2涂层的表面微观结构与其表面疏水性能的关系。结果表明以TEOS和MTES为共前驱体可以制备得到表面带-CH3基团的SiO2溶胶,SiO2溶胶在老化过程中纳米SiO2粒子由于自组装作用形成草莓状微米-纳米双微观结构,这种结构赋予SiO2涂膜表面不同等级的粗糙度,使得水滴与涂膜表面接触时能够形成高的空气捕捉率和较小的粗糙度因子,与SiO2表面疏水性的-CH3基团共同作用形成类荷叶超疏水结构。     

Sol-Gel Synthesis and Pyrolysis Study of Oxyfluoride Silica Gels

Silicon oxyfluoride materials are synthesized by the sol-gel method using triethoxyfluorosilane as precursor, bearing the Si—F bond. SiO_(2–0.5x) F _x gel preparation requires peculiar experimental control of hydrolysis and condensation reactions. Maintenance of the Si—F bond during gelling, heating and aging was studied in the case of processes carried out under an argon atmosphere or in air. Fluorine contents in resulting samples were quantified by FT-IR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); specific surface area and porosity of powdered samples were determined by N₂ adsorption. The thermal stability of oxyfluoride gels was studied by thermogravimetric-mass spectrometric (TG-MS) coupled analyses during heat treatment, under He flow. Mass spectra recorded during principal weight losses indicate the release of variously fluorinated silicon species resulting from Si—F/Si—O exchange reactions. The evolution of these species was observed at different temperatures, depending on gelling conditions. In particular, degradation of Si—F moieties was prominent for gels aged in air, whereas samples processed under an argon atmosphere preserve the Si—F bond up to 300°C.     

硅花园法合成硅酸铝质子酸

A series of aluminasilicate Br?nsted acid catalysts were synthesized with the “silica garden” method, and characterized with XRD, XPS and NH₃-TPD technique. Acid center concentration was measured using ionic ex-change method. The catalytic activities for cumene cracking of the silica garden Br?nsted acid catalysts were ob-served and compared to that of zeolite HY and traditional acidic aluminasilicate catalysts. It was found that the 6-coordinate and 4-coordinate aluminum atoms were in silica garden Br?nsted acid catalysts. There were two kinds of acid centers and a little of crystal in silica garden Br?nsted acid catalysts. And it was also found that the crystal increased the acidities of the catalysts. The catalytic activity and strong acid center concentration of the silica garden Br?nsted acid catalysts were between that of zeolite HY and traditional acidic aluminasilicate catalysts.     

Ethylene Glycol-Citric Acid-Silica Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Materials Obtained by the Sol-Gel Method

The combination of inorganic polymeric networks with organic molecules leads to hybrid materials. Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) was used as the precursor for the inorganic component, covalently bonded to ethylene glycol (EG) and citric acid (CA) molecules, whose esterification provides the in situ water for hydrolysis of TEOS. Ethanol was added in various amounts to the TEOS-EG-CA mixtures in order to induce different molecular separations among the reacting molecules, thus modifying the molecular weight distributions of the resulting materials. Characterization of these hybrid materials was performed by several techniques, with consistent results among them. The materials obtained are thermoplastic systems which can be used as coatings, or as bulk materials. In particular, their rheological and thermal properties suggest their possible use as components of drilling fluids in the tertiary recovery of petroleum.     

Controlling the Spontaneous Precipitation of Silver Nanoparticles in Sol-Gel Materials

The mechanisms responsible for spontaneous silver precipitation in silver-doped sol-gel materials are identified. The chemistry of the solvent phase is found to be the critical factor in controlling this phenomenon. The addition of HCl as catalyst leads to the formation of AgCl and subsequent formation of silver upon light exposure. Another factor leading to silver precipitation is the reducing capability of methanol radicals. Silver precipitation is inhibited by simply washing out the pore solvents by a solvent exchange method.     

In Situ Formation of Particulate Silica in Natural Rubber Matrix by the Sol-Gel Reaction

The sol-gel reaction of tetraethoxysilane was conducted in natural rubber (NR) matrix to obtain NR/in situ silica mixtures. In other words, in situ filling of silica onto NR was conducted. The mixtures were compounded with curing regents, and their viscosities were evaluated. The in situ silica with a coupling agent afforded the lowest viscosity compared not only with a conventional silica (VN-3) but also with a carbon black (HAF). The curing behaviors were most favorable for in situ silica compound. Physical properties of the vulcanizates were also evaluated, and again in situ silica stock gave the best result.     

Atomic Force Microscopy Study of TiO2 Films Obtained by the Sol-Gel Method

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used to study the influence of thermal treatments on the structural and textural properties of the sol-gel TiO2 films obtained from Ti(OC3H7i)4. X-ray diffraction (XRD), ellipsometric and porosity measurements have also been made.The TiO2 sol-gel films were homogeneous, transparent and amorphous. Heat treatments in the 400–600°C range indicate that the films have a strong tendency to crystallization. The high initial homogeneity of the TiO2 films was preserved during the crystallization process. AFM shows that the thermally treated films exhibit uniform, monodispersed crystals.     

Synthesis of Cubic Mesoporous Silica MCM-48by Mixed Micellar Templates

In 1992, Mobil researchers introduced a novel concept in the synthesis of mesoporous silicas (M41S)1,2 by using a self-assembled molecular array of surfactant molecules as structure-directing template. Depending on the shape of their templates and the respective resulting pore structure, the M41S family was identified : MCM-41(hexagonal), MCM-48(cubic), and other species. MCM-41 with honeycomb arrays of nonintersecting channels was shown to be the easiest to synthesize1. MCM-48 containin…     

Synthesis of Submicron-Sized Titania-Coated Silica Particles with a Sol-Gel Method and Their Application to Colloidal Photonic Crystals

A previously proposed method for preparing monodispersed titania particles was extended to preparation of titania-coated silica spherical particles. The core silica particles with an average size of 264 nm were prepared with Stöber method. The titania-coating was performed in ethanol/acetonitrile solvent in the presence of silica particles by a sol-gel method with the use of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and methylamine (MA) catalyst. Average size of the silica-titania particles decreased from 457 to 292 nm with an increase in concentration of silica particles. Coefficient of variation for the particle size was less than 5%. Colloidal crystals could be fabricated with a dip-coating technique and a sedimentation process, respectively. Measurements of reflectance revealed peaks based on the Bragg diffraction. Those peaks red-shifted with an increase in titania shell thickness because of a high refractive index of titania. Annealing at high temperature transformed crystal structure of titania shell from amorphous to anatase (500°C) and rutile (1000°C), which led to red-shift of reflection peak because of an increase in refractive index of titania due to the crystallization.     

Synthesis of Mesoporous Silica Materials via Nonsurfactant Templated Sol-Gel Route by Using Mixture of Organic Compounds as Template

Mesoporous silica materials have been successfully prepared by employing a mixture of -cyclodextrin and urea as a template in a HCl-catalyzed sol-gel process, followed by extraction with water. The obtained materials are characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements, powder X-ray diffraction patterns and transmission electron microscopy. The changes of the pore parameters depend on both the weight ratio of -cyclodextrin and urea and the template content in the final silica composite. The effects of the mixture as template (or pore-forming agent) on the physicochemical properties of the two synthesized systems, with different weight ratio and same template content, as well as varied template content and fixed weight ratio, were investigated in this paper. The results show that the hydrogen bonding interactions between -cyclodextrin and urea molecules or urea aggregates, the urea-holding -cyclodextrin molecules themselves as well as inorganic species are the driving force in the formation of mesoporous silica materials.     

超声溶胶-凝胶法制备强酸性介孔材料

 在不使用有机模板剂和孔调节剂的情况下,以无机盐为原料制备了锆和钛修饰的硅铝介孔材料及担载铂的电子-酸性双功能介孔材料. 激光粒度仪和N2吸附-脱附等温线表征的结果显示,制备方法对溶胶的粒度分布和材料的结构性质有较大的影响. 吡啶吸附-脱附的红外光谱表明所得材料具有强的表面酸性,利用XPS和H2-TPR等表征手段确定了材料强表面酸性的来源. 1-己烯加氢异构反应表明所合成的材料具有良好的催化活性.     

表面活性剂辅助酸催化溶胶-凝胶法制备高强度超亲水二氧化硅减反增透纳米粒子涂层

以正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)、十六烷基三甲基溴化氨(CTAB)、盐酸(HCl)、乙醇和水为原料,通过溶胶-凝胶法提拉涂膜,再经700 ℃快速淬火200 s,制备了二氧化硅（SiO2）纳米粒子涂层。 研究了CTAB浓度、提拉速度、停留时间和提拉涂膜次数对透射率的影响,结果表明,当CTAB质量分数为2.5%,提拉速度为100 mm/min,停留时间为60 s,提拉涂膜1次得到的SiO2纳米粒子涂层透射率最高,可达95.9%。 该涂层具备超亲水性并能耐受6H铅笔刮痕测试。 实验还表明,在SiO2溶胶液中加入CTAB,通过其与TEOS部分水解生成的物种的相互作用,可以改善酸性催化条件下形成的SiO2溶胶的微观结构,从而提高了涂层的透射率和亲水性。     

碱/酸两步催化法制备耐候性SiO2增透膜的研究

以正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)为先驱体,采用碱/酸两步催化溶胶-凝胶法制备出一种兼具碱催化增透膜的高透过率和酸催化增透膜的良好耐摩擦性能的优点的SiO2增透膜。对酸碱催化SiO2相对比例及酸催化时水含量的系统研究表明,当酸催化SiO2的含量为50%时,增透膜综合性能最好,即具有高透过率和高耐摩擦性;当nH2O/nHCl=1∶0.0010时,增透膜的透过率最高。碱/酸两步催化法制备的增透膜与水的接触角仅为11.3°,本文进一步用六甲基二硅氧烷(HMDS)对增透膜表面进行了修饰,修饰后增透膜的接触角提高至52.5°,增透膜的疏水性及环境稳定性得到较大的提高。     

Synthesis of Nickel Supported Catalysts for Hydrogen Production by Sol-Gel Method

SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ supported Ni catalysts were synthesized in the form of xerogels: the SiO₂ based materials were prepared starting from Ni propionate or glycolate salts and reacting them with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in propionic acid, Si(ethylene glycolate) or sodium silicate. The Al₂O₃ supported catalysts were prepared similarly from Ni propionate salts with Al iso-propoxide salts. Narrow metal particles and strong metal support interactions are observed in the sol-gel catalysts. The metal dispersion was higher for Al₂O₃ based materials than the SiO₂ ones and it deeply depends on the Ni precursor for the silica supported Ni. Wet impregnated oxides with similar Ni loading have higher metal surface area than those from sol-gel processing. The influence of surface differences on the catalytic activity of the materials was studied following the CH₄ and CO₂ reaction in dry reforming conditions by pulse reaction tests.     

Characterization of Porous Nanocomposites Formed by Cobalt Ferrites Dispersed in Sol-Gel Silica Matrix

Composites of cobalt ferrite particles dispersed in a silica matrix (CoFe₂O₄/SiO₂) were prepared by the sol-gel process using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as a precursor of silica and metallic nitrates as precursors of ferrite. Samples of SiO₂ and CoFe₂O₄/SiO₂ were prepared in monolithic shape, dried at 110^∘C, treated at various temperatures and their characteristics were compared. After the thermal treatment, the surface area of the silica matrix decreased, above 700^∘C it densified, and above 1100^∘C it crystallized. The same heat treatment in the composite led to the crystallization of CoFe₂O₄ particles in the SiO₂ matrix and the increase in particle size, with the consequent increase in magnetization. The presence of particles in the matrix reinforced its structure, avoiding large changes in surface area and porosity and in the structure of the matrix after high temperature thermal treatment.     

Preparation of Optical Cores of Silica Optical Fibers by the Sol-Gel Method

Preforms for drawing silica optical fibers have been fabricated by using the MCVD method for the preparation of the optical claddings and the sol-gel method for the preparation of the optical cores consisting of TiO₂−SiO₂ or RE³⁺−Al₂O₃−P₂O₅−SiO₂ (RE=Er, Yb) glasses. A novel method has been developed for depositing thin gel layers on the inner silica tube wall, under rotation of the tube inclined at a small angle to the horizontal. The gel layers have been deposited from sols prepared by mixing Si(OC₂H₅)₄, POCl₃, Ti(n-OC₄H₉)₄, AlCl₃, ErCl₃, YbCl₃ H₂O, C₂H₅OH and HCl. The gel layers deposited using these sols on the inner tube wall were heat-treated in a flow of CCl₄ or POCl₃ with O₂ at temperatures of from 800° to 1400°C. After collapsing the composite tube into a preform, an optical fiber has been drawn. The refractive-index profiles of the preforms and the attenuation spectra of the drawn fibers are shown, as well as some results on the lasing characteristics of Yb³⁺ sensitized, Er³⁺ doped fibers.     

Synthesis of Silica Aerogels: Influence of the Supercritical CO2 on the Sol-Gel Process

The synthesis of silica aerogels was modified by addition of supercritical CO₂ during the sol-gel process. It was shown, that CO₂ acts as a catalyst and accelerates the gelation significantly. This effect was studied under a multitude of experimental conditions. The influence of the precursor concentration, temperature and the nature of the catalysts and solvent on the gel formation in presence of CO₂ was studied. Several gels obtained by this method were dried and transparent silica aerogels were produced.