In situ SAXS study on a new mechanism for mesostructure formation of ordered mesoporous carbons: thermally induced self-assembly

A new mechanism for mesostructure formation of ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) was investigated with in situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements: thermally induced self-assembly. Unlike the well-established evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA), the structure formation for organic-organic self-assembly of an oligomeric resol precursor and the block-copolymer templates Pluronic P123 and F127 does not occur during evaporation but only by following a thermopolymerization step at temperatures above 100 °C. The systems investigated here were cubic (Im3m), orthorhombic Fmmm) and 2D-hexagonal (plane group p6mm) mesoporous carbon phases in confined environments, as thin films and within the pores of anodic alumina membranes (AAMs), respectively. The thin films were prepared by spin-coating mixtures of the resol precursor and the surfactants in ethanol followed by thermopolymerization of the precursor oligomers. The carbon phases within the pores of AAMs were made by imbibition of the latter solutions followed by solvent evaporation and thermopolymerization within the solid template. This thermopolymerization step was investigated in detail with in situ grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS, for films) and in situ SAXS (for AAMs). It was found that the structural evolution strongly depends on the chosen temperature, which controls both the rate of the mesostructure formation and the spatial dimensions of the resulting mesophase. Therefore the process of structure formation differs significantly from the known EISA process and may rather be viewed as thermally induced self-assembly. The complete process of structure formation, template removal, and shrinkage during carbonization up to 1100 °C was monitored in this in situ SAXS study.     

Mesoporous silica hybrid membranes for precise size-exclusive separation of silver nanoparticles

One-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials have unique applications due to their inherent physical properties. In this study, hexagonally ordered mesoporous silica hybrid anodic alumina membranes (AAM) were synthesized using template-guided synthesis with a number of nonionic n-alkyl-oligo(ethylene oxide), Brij-type (C(x)EO(y)), which are surfactants that have different molecular sizes and characteristics. The hexagonal mesoporous silicas are vertically aligned in the AAM channels with a predominantly columnar orientation. The hollow mesostructured silicas had tunable pore diameters varying from 3.7 to 5.1 nm. In this synthesis protocol, the surfactant molecular natures (corona/core features) are important for the controlled generation of ordered structures throughout AAM channels. The development of ultrafiltration membranes composed of silica mesostructures could be used effectively in separating silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in both aqueous and organic solution phases. This would be relevant to the production of well-defined Ag NPs with unique properties. To create a size-exclusive separation system of Ag NPs, we grafted hydrophobic trimethylsilyl (TMS) groups onto the inner pores of the mesoporous silica hybrid AAM. The immobilization of the TMS groups allowed the columnar mesoporous silica inside AAM to retain this inner pore order without distortion during the separation of solution-phase Ag NPs in organic solvents that may cause tortuous-pore membranes. Mesoporous TMS-silicas inside 1D AAM channels were applicable as a size-exclusive separation system to isolate organic solution-phase Ag NPs of uniform morphology and size.     

铝膜腔体内高度有序的介孔硅SBA-16的合成

在阳极铝膜腔体内, 以三嵌段聚合物F127为表面活性剂合成出一维纳米介孔二氧化硅材料. 采用压力诱导合成方法能使纳米纤维沿着铝膜腔体有序生长排列, 并且只存在于铝膜的腔体内, 在铝膜表面没有残留. 在纳米纤维的两侧可以清楚地观察到具有六边形结构的孔道, 直径为12 nm. 考察了正硅酸乙酯的水解时间以及化合物的不同配比对材料形貌的影响.     

Ordered mesoporous alumina-supported metal oxides

The one-pot synthesis of alumina-supported metal oxides via self-assembly of a metal precursor and aluminum isopropoxide in the presence of triblock copolymer (as a structure directing agent) is described in detail for nickel oxide. The resulting mesoporous mixed metal oxides possess p6 mm hexagonal symmetry, well-developed mesoporosity, relatively high BET surface area, large pore widths, and crystalline pore walls. In comparison to pure alumina, nickel aluminum oxide samples exhibited larger mesopores and improved thermal stability. Also, long-range ordering of the aforementioned samples was observed for nickel molar percentages as high as 20%. The generality of the recipe used for the synthesis of mesoporous nickel aluminum oxide was demonstrated by preparation of other alumina-supported metal oxides such as MgO, CaO, TiO 2, and Cr 2O 3. This method represents an important step toward the facile and reproducible synthesis of ordered mesoporous alumina-supported materials for various applications where large and accessible pores with high loading of catalytically active metal oxides are needed.     

Effects of thermal treatment on the surface properties of a wide pore silica gel

A mesoporous silica gel Davidson 59 was thermally treated in vacuo, in the temperature range 20–1000°C. Effects of thermal treatment on the water contents, nitrogen surface areas, pore structure and heats of immersion in water were investigated and discussed. The temperatures selected were 20, 110, 200, 290, 380, 480, 510 and 1000°C. These temperatures were found to cover all the various textural changes resulting from the heat effect.It could be shown that the heats of immersion in water depend primarily on the water content of the sample and are proportional, at least qualitatively to the number of hydroxyl groups on the surface and their availability for interaction with liquid water. The interesting result obtained is that a second factors is involved, namely the pore structure of the adsorbent. A qualitative parallelism exists between the normalized heat of immersion per unit area, and the average pore radius. Apparently the packing of water molecules in narrow pores leads to a decrease in the heat of immersion due to repulsion between the permanent dipoles of the molecules. In narrower pores, the heat of immersion in water is smaller than in wide pores.     

Ordered mesoporous ceramics stable up to 1500 degrees C from diblock copolymer mesophases

In the present study, a poly(isoprene-block-dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate) diblock copolymer (PI-b-PDMAEMA) is used to structure-direct a polysilazane pre-ceramic polymer, commercially known as Ceraset. To the polymer was added a 2-fold excess in weight of the silazane oligomer (Ceraset). The resulting composite was cast into films, and after cooperative self-assembly of block copolymer and Ceraset, the structure was permanently set in the hexagonal columnar morphology, as evidenced by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cross-linking of the silazane oligomer was achieved with a radical initiator at 120 degrees C. Upon heating of the composite to 1500 degrees C under nitrogen, the structure is preserved and a mesoporous ceramic material is obtained, as demonstrated by SAXS and TEM. The pores are open and accessible, as evidenced by nitrogen sorption/desorption measurements indicating a surface area of about 51 m2 g-1 and a pore diameter of 13 nm, consistent with TEM analysis. These results suggest that the use of block copolymer mesophases may provide a simple, easily controlled pathway for the preparation of various high-temperature ceramic mesostructures.     

Tuning the optical properties of mesoporous TiO2 films by nanoscale engineering

The optical properties of spin-coated titanium dioxide films have been tuned by introducing mesoscale pores into the inorganic matrix. Differently sized pores were templated using Pluronic triblock copolymers as surfactants in the sol-gel precursor solutions and adjusted by varying the process parameters, such as the polymer concentration, annealing temperature, and time. The change in refractive index observed for different mesoporous anatase films annealed at 350, 400, or 450 °C directly correlates with changes in the pore size. Additionally, the index of refraction is influenced by the film thickness and the density of pores within the films. The band gap of these films is blue-shifted, presumably due to stress the introduction of pores exerts on the inorganic matrix. This study focused on elucidating the effect different templating materials (Pluronic F127 and P123) have on the pore size of the final mesoporous titania film and on understanding the relation of varying the polymer concentration (taking P123 as an example) in the sol-gel solution to the pore density and size in the resultant titania film. Titania thin film samples or corresponding titanium dioxide powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, cross-section transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption, ellipsometery, UV/vis spectrometry, and other techniques to understand the interplay between mesoporosity and optical properties.     

Synthesis of thermally stable zirconia-based mesoporous materials via a facile post-treatment

A novel method of preparing thermally stable zirconia-based mesoporous materials was developed. The zirconia-based mesoporous materials of 2D-hexagonal structure were prepared using zirconium sulfate as the zirconium precursor and cetyltrimethylammonium (CTMA) as the pore-directing agent with the aid of salt in the synthesis solution to reduce the sulfate content in the final product and significantly improve the crystallographic ordering. Post-treatment of the mesoporous material with NaCl solution and lowering the ramping rate to less than 0.2 degrees C/min during the calcination process, however, were the key steps to hinder the growth of the dense zirconia phase and to retain the ordered mesostructure up to 600 degrees C. It was found that a portion of the surfactant (8.9-17.4 wt %) and sulfate ions (0.5-1.2 wt %) were removed during the post-treatment, which prevented the remaining sulfate groups from being reduced by the hydrogen-rich surfactant during the calcination process as confirmed by sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and infrared spectroscopy. The maintenance of sulfur in the sulfate state seemed to be important in stabilizing the mesoporous structure of zirconia materials. The mesoporous zirconia materials after extraction with NaCl solution three times and calcination at 550-600 degrees C had the composition ZrO(2-x)(SO4)x with x = 0.10-0.27. The material possesses high surface area (approximately 200 m2/g), large pore volume (approximately 0.10 cm3/g), and wormlike mesopores. In comparison with the mesoporous zirconia materials stabilized by chemical treatment, the present route was simpler and more environmentally friendly and resulted in mesoporous zirconia materials of better thermal stability.     

Sodium niobate adsorbents doped with tantalum (TaV) for the removal of bivalent radioactive ions in waste waters

Mesoporous silica containing a large amount of isolated Ti was prepared from an alkoxytitanosiloxane precursor through a hard template method. Isopropoxytris(tris-tert-butoxysiloxy)titanium (((i)PrO)Ti[OSi(O(t)Bu)(3)](3), TS3) was synthesized and TS3 was mixed with mesoporous carbon (CMK-3), a hard template. The mixture was pyrolyzed at 180 °C to form a composite consisting of titanosilica and the hard template. After calcination at 600 °C for the removal of the carbon template, the titanium species were not transformed to anatase TiO(2), proved by DR-UV-Vis, FTIR, XPS, and XRD, while the ESR results indicated the presence of isolated Ti. The mesoporous structure was verified by SEM, TEM, and N(2) adsorption. The Si/Ti ratio of the product was consistent with that of the precursor. All the results show that the material prepared from the precursor is ordered mesoporous silica containing a large amount of isolated Ti in the frameworks. The use of well-defined alkoxytitanosiloxane precursor leads to the formation of mesoporous silica with exactly controlled composition of titanium with neither loss of Ti nor transformation to anatase.     

Uniform and size-tunable mesoporous silica with fibrous morphology for drug delivery

A family of mesoporous silica microspheres with fibrous morphology and different particle sizes ranging from about 400 to 900 nm has been successfully synthesized through a facile self-assembly process. The structural, morphological, and textural properties of the samples were well characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N(2) adsorption/desorption, and thermal gravimetry (TG). The results reveal that this silica-based mesoporous material exhibits excellent physical properties, including a fibrous spherical morphology, good thermal stability, large pore volume, high specific surface area and narrow size distribution. Additionally, the size and textural properties can be tuned by altering the silica precursor/template molar ratio. The formation and the self-assembly evolution process have also been proposed. The obtained materials were further used as a drug delivery carrier to investigate the in vitro drug release properties using doxorubicin (DOX) as a representative model drug. It was found that this kind of silica exhibits good biocompatibility and obvious sustained drug release properties, suggesting its potential application in biological fields.     

In(2)O(3) microbundles constructed with well-aligned single-crystalline nanorods: F127-directed self-assembly and enhanced gas sensing performance

Copper-succinate-layered hydroxide (CSLH), a new nanohybrid material, was synthesized as an inorganic-organic nanohybrid, in which organic moiety was intercalated between the layers of a single cation layered material, copper hydroxide nitrate. Microporous scaffold carbon material was obtained by thermal decomposition of the nanohybrid at 500 °C under argon atmosphere followed by acid washing process. Furthermore, the heat-treated product of the nanohybrid at 600 °C was ultrafine mesoporous metallic copper particles. The results of this study confirmed the great potential of CSLH to produce the carbon material with large surface area (580 m(2)/g) and high pore volume copper powder (2.04 cm(3)/g).     

镁热还原法制备有序介孔Si/C锂离子电池负极材料及其电化学性能

以SBA-15为前驱体,在660 ℃下通过镁热还原反应得到介孔硅材料,并对其进行碳包覆处理,成功地制备了有序介孔Si/C（OMP-Si/C）复合材料。该OMP-Si/C材料保留了SBA-15模板的有序蜂窝孔道,并且形成具有高堆积密度的莲藕链束结构。文中还提出了一个SBA-15镁热还原液态环境反应模型,探讨了660 ℃下硅的高度有序介孔与莲藕链束结构的形成机理。利用X射线衍射（XRD）仪、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、透射电子显微镜（TEM）、氮气吸脱附法及拉曼光谱对样品物相和微观形貌进行了表征。这种高度有序介孔Si/C复合材料具有优异的电化学性能,展现出其在第二代锂电池负极材料领域中的潜在应用价值。     

Direct thermal decomposition of metal nitrates in octadecylamine to metal oxide nanocrystals

We have developed a method for the synthesis of metal oxide nanocrystals with controllable shape and size, which is based on the direct thermal decomposition of metal nitrates in octadecylamine. Mn3O4 nanoparticles and nanorods with different lengths were synthesized by using manganese nitrate as the decomposition material. Other metal oxide nanocrystals such as NiO, ZnO, CeO2, CoO, and Co3O4 were also prepared by this method. These nanocrystals were then assembled into 3D colloidal spheres by a surfactant-assisted self-assembly process. Subsequently, calcination was carried out to remove the surfactants to obtain mesoporous metal oxides, which show large pores, good crystallization, thermally stable pore mesostructures, and potential applications in various fields, especially in catalysis and lithium-ion batteries.     

Triconstituent co-assembly to ordered mesostructured polymer-silica and carbon-silica nanocomposites and large-pore mesoporous carbons with high surface areas

Highly ordered mesoporous polymer-silica and carbon-silica nanocomposites with interpenetrating networks have been successfully synthesized by the evaporation-induced triconstituent co-assembly method, wherein soluble resol polymer is used as an organic precursor, prehydrolyzed TEOS is used as an inorganic precursor, and triblock copolymer F127 is used as a template. It is proposed for the first time that ordered mesoporous nanocomposites have "reinforced concrete"-structured frameworks. By adjusting the initial mass ratios of TEOS to resol, we determined the obtained nanocomposites possess continuous composition with the ratios ranging from zero to infinity for the two constituents that are "homogeneously" dispersed inside the pore walls. The presence of silicates in nanocomposites dramatically inhibits framework shrinkage during the calcination, resulting in highly ordered large-pore mesoporous carbon-silica nanocomposites. Combustion in air or etching in HF solution can remove carbon or silica from the carbon-silica nanocomposites and yield ordered mesoporous pure silica or carbon frameworks. The process generates plenty of small pores in carbon or/and silica pore walls. Ordered mesoporous carbons can then be obtained with large pore sizes of approximately 6.7 nm, pore volumes of approximately 2.0 cm(3)/g, and high surface areas of approximately 2470 m(2)/g. The pore structures and textures can be controlled by varying the sizes and polymerization degrees of two constituent precursors. Accordingly, by simply tuning the aging time of TEOS, ordered mesoporous carbons with evident bimodal pores at 2.6 and 5.8 nm can be synthesized.     

The effect of hydrothermal treatment on column performance for monolithic silica capillary columns

Monolithic silica capillary columns with i.d. 100 μm and monolithic silica rods were prepared with tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) or a mixture of TMOS and metyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) using different hydrothermal treatments at T=80 °C or 120 °C. Nitrogen physisorption was applied for the pore characterization of the rods and inverse size exclusion chromatography (ISEC) for that of the capillary columns. Using nitrogen physisorption, it was shown change of pore size and surface area corresponds to that of hydrothermal treatment and silica precursor. The results from ISEC agreed well with those from nitrogen physisorption regarding the pore size distribution (PSD). In addition, the retention factors for hexylbenzene with the ODS-modified capillary columns in methanol/water=80/20 at T=30 °C could also support the results from nitrogen physisorption. Furthermore, column efficiency for the columns was evaluated with alkylbenzenes and three kinds of peptides, leucine-enkephalin, angiotensin II, and insulin. Column efficiency for alkylbenzenes was similar independently of the hydrothermal treatment at T=120 °C. Even for TMOS columns, there was no significant difference in column efficiency for the peptides despite the difference in hydrothermal treatment. In contrast, for hybrid columns, it was possible to confirm the effect on hydrothermal treatment at T=120 °C resulting in a different column efficiency, especially for insulin. This difference supports the results from both nitrogen physisorption and ISEC, showing the presence of more small pores of ca. 3-6 nm for a hybrid silica without hydrothermal treatment at T=120 °C. Consequently, the results suggest that hydrothermal treatment for a hybrid column with higher temperature or longer time is necessary, compared to that for a TMOS column, to provide higher column efficiency with increase in molecular size of solute.     

Hβ/MCM-41复合分子筛催化剂上苯甲醚与乙酸酐酰化反应研究

以β沸石为硅源,制备了不同硅铝比的Hβ/MCM-41复合分子筛,考察了该复合分子筛对苯甲醚与乙酸酐酰化反应的催化效果,并与介孔MCM-41、微孔Hβ分子筛的催化效果进行了比较,研究了分子筛硅铝比、酸性及孔道结构对酰化反应催化性能的影响。结果表明,对于苯甲醚和乙酸酐酰化反应,Hβ/MCM-41复合分子筛具有较好的催化稳定性,反应过程中的积炭量较少,积炭的碳氢比较低。该复合分子筛不仅具有微孔沸石的强酸性,而且具有较大孔径的介孔,产物分子能及时从孔道中扩散出来,催化活性位不易中毒失活。     

Trapping and release of cargo molecules from a micro-stamped mesoporous thin film controlled by poly(NIPAAm-co-AAm)

Materials that utilize the micropatterned structure of a mesoporous silica film to successfully load and release cargo using a thermal sensitive polymer are presented in this paper. Films with pore sizes of ~2 and ~5 nm aligned in the pulling direction were synthesized using evaporation induced self-assembly techniques. The pores are exposed using a new method of stamping micropatterns without the use hydrofluoric acid. A well studied temperature dependent polymer [poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide)] was grafted onto the surface of these films to act as a temperature activated gatekeeper. Below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) the polymer is erect and can block the pore openings, trapping cargo inside the pores. When the temperature is above the LCST the polymer collapses and unblocks the pores, allowing cargo to escape. The loading capacities as well as the reusability of these films were studied.     

Template-free sol–gel synthesis of high surface area mesoporous silica based catalysts for esterification of di-carboxylic acids

High surface area mesoporous silica based catalysts have been prepared by a simple hydrolysis/sol–gel process without using any organic template and hydrothermal treatment. A controlled hydrolysis of ethyl silicate-40, an industrial bulk chemical, as a silica precursor, resulted in the formation of very high surface area (719 m²/g) mesoporous (pore size 67 Å and pore volume 1.19 cc/g) silica. The formation of mesoporous silica has been correlated with the polymeric nature of the ethyl silicate-40 silica precursor which on hydrolysis and further condensation forms long chain silica species which hinders the formation of a close condensed structure thus creating larger pores resulting in the formation of high surface mesoporous silica. Ethyl silicate-40 was used further for preparing a solid acid catalyst by supporting molybdenum oxide nanoparticles on mesoporous silica by a simple hydrolysis sol–gel synthesis procedure. The catalysts showed very high acidity as determined by NH₃-TPD with the presence of Lewis as well as Brønsted acidity. These catalysts showed very high catalytic activity for esterification; a typical acid catalyzed organic transformation of various mono- and di-carboxylic acids with a range of alcohols. The in situ formed silicomolybdic acid heteropoly-anion species during the catalytic reactions were found to be catalytically active species for these reactions. Ethyl silicate-40, an industrial bulk silica precursor, has shown a good potential for its use as a silica precursor for the preparation of mesoporous silica based heterogeneous catalysts on a larger scale at a lower cost.     

Remarkable birefringence in a TiO2-SiO2 composite film with an aligned mesoporous structure

Mesoporous titania-silica composite films with highly aligned cylindrical pores are prepared by the sol-gel method using a substrate with structural anisotropy. The strong alignment effect of a rubbing-treated polyimide film on a substrate provides a narrow alignment distribution in the plane of the film regardless of the fast condensation rate of titania precursors. The collapse of the mesostructure upon the surfactant removal is effectively suppressed by the reinforcement of the pore walls with silica by exposing the as-deposited film to a vapor of a silicon alkoxide. The existence of a silica layer on the titania pore wall is proved from the distributions of Ti and Si estimated by the elemental analysis in high resolution electron microscopy. The obtained mesoporous titania-silica composite film exhibits a remarkable birefringence reflecting the highly anisotropic mesoporous structure and the high refractive index of titania that forms the pore wall. The Δn value estimated from the optical retardation and the film thickness is larger than 0.06, which cannot be achieved with the conventional mesoporous silica films with uniaxially aligned mesoporous structure even though the alignment of the pores in the films is perfect. These inorganic films with mesoscopic structural anisotropy will find many applications in the field of optics as phase plates with high thermal/chemical/mechanical stabilities.     

A Novel Route to the Synthesis of Mesoporous Titania with Full Anatase Nanocrystalline Domains

A porous, high surface area TiO₂ with anatase or rutile crystalline domains is advantageous for high efficiency photonic devices. Here, we report a new route to the synthesis of mesoporous titania with full anatase crystalline domains. This route involves the preparation of anatase nanocrystalline seed suspensions as the titania precursor and a block copolymer surfactant, Pluronic P123 as the template for the hydrothermal self-assembly process. A large pore (7–8 nm) mesoporous titania with a high surface area of 106–150 m²/g after calcination at 400°C for 4 h in air is achieved. Increasing the hydrothermal temperature decreases the surface area and creates larger pores. Characteristics of the seed precursors as well as the resultant mesoporous titania powder were studied using XRD analysis, N₂-adsorption/desorption analysis, and TEM. We believe these materials will be especially useful for photoelectrochemical solar cell and photocatalysis applications.