Synthesis and characterization of high surface area TiO2/SiO2 mesostructured nanocomposite

Recently titania synthesis was reported using various structuration procedures, leading to the production of solid presenting high surface area but exhibiting moderate thermal stability. The study presents the synthesis of TiO₂/SiO₂ nanocomposites, a solid that can advantageously replace bulk titania samples as catalyst support. The silica host support used for the synthesis of the nanocomposite is a SBA-15 type silica, having a well-defined 2D hexagonal pore structure and a large pore size. The control of the impregnation media is important to obtain dispersed titania crystals into the porosity, the best results have been obtained using an impregnation in an excess of solvent. After calcination at low temperature (400 °C), nanocomposites having titania nanodomains (～2–3 nm) located inside the pores and no external aggregates visible are obtained. This nanocomposite exhibits high specific surface area (close to that of the silica host support, even with a titania loading of 55 wt.%) and a narrow pore size distribution. Surprisingly, the increase in calcination temperature up to 800 °C does not allow to detect the anatase to rutile transition. Even at 800 °C, the hexagonal mesoporous structure of the silica support is maintained, and the anatase crystal domain size is evaluated at ～10 nm, a size close to that of the silica host support porosity (8.4 nm). Comparison of their physical properties with the results presented in literature for bulk samples evidenced that these TiO₂/SiO₂ solids are promising in term of thermal stability.     

Preparation and structural evolution of SiO(2)-TiO(2) pillared layered manganese oxide nanocomposite upon intercalating reaction

Poly(ethylene glycol) possessing pentaethylenehexamine at one end (N6-PEG) was prepared via a reductive amination reaction of aldehyde-ended PEG with pentaethylenehexamine. Using N6-PEG, an antibody/PEG co-immobilized surface was constructed on magnetic particles via an active ester reaction method. After immobilization of the antibody on the active ester surface, N6-PEG was reacted on the magnetic beads. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system was newly constructed using PEG/antibody co-immobilized magnetic beads combined with an alkaline phosphatase (ALP)-assisted fluorescent detection system using alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a model antigen. The co-immobilization of both antibody and PEG on the magnetic bead surfaces reduced the nonspecific adsorption of proteins from cell lysates. Especially, when the magnetic particle surface was modified by N6-PEG mixtures with different molecular weights of 6000 and 2500 (6 kDa:2.5 kDa=9:1 w/w), the nonspecific adsorption of proteins was strongly suppressed. It is rather surprising for us that the sensitivity of the antibody on the surface was enhanced significantly when the PEG tethered chain was constructed in between the surface antibodies. Consequently, the mixed N6-PEG treatment showed a much higher S/N ratio than for the corresponding beads treated with bovine serum albumin (BSA), a conventional blocking reagent. Actually, when alpha-fetoprotein was analyzed by the magnetic bead-assisted ELISA thus constructed, the S/N ratio was about 20-fold higher for the mixed coating with PEG (6 kDa):PEG (2.5 kDa)=9:1, compared to the conventional BSA.     

A pyrrole-containing surfactant as a tecton for nanocomposite SiO2 films

A surfactant featuring a polymerizable pyrrole head group (dodecyl-dimethyl-(2-pyrrol-1-yl-ethyl)-ammonium bromide, DDPABr) was synthesized. The thermotropic behavior of the surfactant was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray scattering techniques, with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis revealing a highly ordered lamellar bilayer structure. After full characterization, DDPABr was used in the preparation of mesostructured SiO2 nanocomposite thin films via evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). Resulting thin SiO2-DDPABr films were studied by 1D and 2D small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques, indicating a lamellar nanocomposite structure. Suitable theoretical SAXS models were applied to fit the experimental 1D SAXS data. The surfactant could be chemically polymerized within the lamellar domains.     

Thickness-dependent morphological behavior of dendritic (PS)2-b-PLA copolymer thin films on a SiO2 substrate

In contrast to the known perpendicular ordering of conventional PS-b-PLA thin films, branched (PS)(2)-b-PLA thin films showed two different parallel orientations whose locations are strongly dependent upon film thickness.     

Preparation of raspberry-like PMMA/SiO2 nanocomposite particles

Water-borne raspberry-like PMMA/SiO₂ nanocom-posite particles were prepared via free radical copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with 1-vinylimidazole (1-VID) in the presence of ultrafine aqueous silica sols. The acid-base interaction between hydroxyl groups (acidic) of silica surfaces and amino groups (basic) of 1-VID was strong enough for promoting the formation of long-standing stable PMMA/SiO₂ nanocomposite particles when 10 mol% or more 1-VID as auxiliary monomer was used. The average particle sizes and the silica contents of the nanocomposite particles were in the ranges from 120–330 nm and 15%–20%, respectively. TEM and SEM observations indicated a raspberry-like morphology of the obtained nanocomposite particles. __________ Translated from Chemical Journal of Chinese Universities, 2005, 26(7) (in Chinese)     

纳米Al2O3/SiO2室温磷光复合材料的研究

通过溶胶-凝胶法制备出了纳米Al2O3/SiO2室温磷光材料,通过优化试验条件,确定铝硅摩尔比为0.20,煅烧温度为600℃,煅烧时间为2h条件下制备出的材料的发光性质最好,粒径为大约50 nm。该纳米Al2O3/SiO室温磷光材料的最大激发波长为406nm,最大发射波长为537nm,磷光寿命为0.53s。     

Thermal decomposition and flame retardant behaviour of SiO2-phenolic nanocomposite

The present investigation describes the preparation of nano-SiO₂-phenolic novolac resin nanocomposite through in situ polymerisation. CP MAS ¹³C NMR and FTIR analyses indicate the formation of chemical linkage between the inorganic and organic components. The decomposition temperature of the nanocomposite is ∼70 °C higher than the neat phenolic resin. The char content of the nanocomposite at any intermediate temperature is higher than that of neat resin. The limiting oxygen index value of the neat resin is 38 whereas it is 43 for the nanocomposite. So, the nanocomposite possesses excellent flame retardant property. Both the nanocomposite and the neat resin were isothermally pyrolysed and the products were separated and identified using GC–MS. The decomposition product analysis shows a difference in the decomposition product distribution. This variation is discussed in the light of the proposed structure for the SiO₂-phenolic nanocomposite.     

Synthesis of SiO2/polystyrene nanocomposite particles via miniemulsion polymerization

The SiO(2)/polystyrene nanocomposite particles were synthesized through miniemulsion polymerization by using sodium lauryl sulfate surfactant (SLS), hexadecane costabilizer in the presence of silica particles coated with methacryloxy(propyl)trimethoxysilane. Core-shell or other interesting morphology composite particles were obtained depending on the size of the silica particles and the surfactant concentration employed. By adjusting these parameters, it was possible to control the size and morphology of the composite particles.     

Wetting of mixed OHH(2)O layers on Pt(111)

We describe the effect of growth temperature and OHH(2)O composition on the wetting behavior of Pt(111). Changes to the desorption rate of ice films were measured and correlated to the film morphology using low energy electron diffraction and thermal desorption of chloroform to measure the area of multilayer ice and monolayer OHH(2)O exposed. Thin ice films roughen, forming bare (radical39 x radical39)R16 degrees water monolayer and ice clusters. The size of the clusters depends on growth temperature and determines their kinetic stability, with the desorption rate decreasing when larger clusters are formed by growth at high temperature. Continuous films of more than approximately 50 layers thick stabilize an ordered incommensurate ice film that does not dewet. OH coadsorption pins the first layer into registry with Pt, forming an ordered hexagonal (OH+H(2)O) structure with all the H atoms involved in hydrogen bonding. Although this layer has a similar honeycomb OH(x) skeleton to ice Ih, it is unable to reconstruct to match the bulk ice lattice parameter and does not form a stable wetting layer. Water aggregates to expose bare monolayer (OH+H(2)O), forming bulk ice crystallites whose size depend on preparation temperature. Increasing the proportion of water in the first layer provides free OH groups which stabilize the multilayer. The factors influencing multilayer wetting are discussed using density functional theory calculations to compare water adsorption on top of (OH+H(2)O) and on simple models for commensurate water structures. We show that both the (OH+H(2)O) structure and "H-down" water layers are poor proton acceptors, bonding to the first layer being enhanced by the presence of free OH groups. Formation of an ordered ice multilayer requires a water-metal interaction sufficient to wet the surface, but not so strong as to prevent the first layer relaxing to stabilize the interface between the metal and bulk ice.     

Impact of PS/SiO2 morphologies on the SERS activity of PS/SiO2/Ag nanocomposite particles

To understand the relationship between the morphology of carboxyl-functionalized polystyrene/silica (PS/SiO₂) nanocomposite microspheres and the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance of PS/SiO₂/Ag nanocomposite particles, core-shell and raspberry-like PS/SiO₂ composite microspheres were used as templates to prepare PS/SiO₂/Ag nanocomposite particles. The core-shell and raspberry-like structured PS/SiO₂ templates were prepared via in situ sol-gel reaction by hydrolysis tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in alkali solution. Silver nanoparticles (10–50 nm) were loaded on the PS/SiO₂ templates’ surface by chemical reduction. The morphology and structure of the PS/SiO₂/Ag particles were characterized by TEM, SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was selected as a model chemical to study the enhancement performance of substrate constructed by PS/SiO₂/Ag nanocomposite. Results indicated that the PS/SiO₂/Ag nanocomposite prepared based on the core-shell templates showed higher SERS activity. The beneficial effect was associated with a lower specific area of core-shell structure and the larger average diameter of nanosilvers than that of the raspberry-like templates.     

Synthesis and antibacterial property of hollow SiO2/Ag nanocomposite spheres

This paper presents a novel and facile method to fabricate hollow silica/sliver (SiO(2)/Ag) nanocomposite spheres. In this approach, the monodisperse hollow SiO(2) colloids bearing quantenary ammonium groups were prepared by dispersion polymerization combined sol-gel process and used as templates. The Ag(+) ions were first adsorbed onto the surfaces of the hollow SiO(2) beads via electrostatic interaction and then in situ reduced by the deprotonated silanol groups of the hollow SiO(2) beads, no extra reducing agents or catalysts were added during the reduction process. TEM, SEM and EDX analyses indicated that Ag nanoparticles were successfully deposited onto the surfaces of hollow SiO(2) beads. Some influencing parameters, such as the amount of quantenary ammonium groups in the inner wall of hollow SiO(2) colloids, Ag(+) ions concentration and reaction temperature, on the deposition of Ag nanoparticles onto SiO(2) colloids were investigated. Preliminary antibacterial tests indicated that these hollow nanocomposite spheres showed excellent antibacterial ability.     

Synthesis of SiO2/poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) nanocomposite microspheres via miniemulsion polymerization

A series of SiO₂/poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) nanocomposite microspheres with various morphologies (e.g., multicore–shell, normal core–shell, and raspberry‐like) were synthesized via miniemulsion polymerization. The results showed that the morphology of the composite latex particles was strongly influenced by the presence or absence of the soft monomer (butyl acrylate), the particle sizes of the silica, and the emulsifier concentrations. The incorporation of the soft monomer helped in forming the multicore–shell structure. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3202–3209, 2006     

Adsorption behavior of Me2-CA-BTP/SiO2-P adsorbent toward MA(III) and Ln(III) in nitrate solution

A porous Me₂-CA-BTP/SiO₂-P adsorbent was prepared to separate MA(III) from Ln(III) in high level liquid waste (HLLW). The adsorption behavior of Me₂-CA-BTP/SiO₂-P toward ²⁴¹Am(III) and Ln(III) in 0.01 M HNO₃-NaNO₃ solution was studied. Me₂-CA-BTP/SiO₂-P showed high adsorption and selectivity toward ²⁴¹Am(III) over Ln(III) fission products with the separation factor (SF) reaching to 557, 2355, 1952, 1082, 214, 105, 86, 14 for Y, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd and Dy respectively in 0.01 M HNO₃-0.99 M NaNO₃ solution. The adsorption kinetics of both Dy(III) and Eu(III) on Me₂-CA-BTP/SiO₂-P was studied and followed pseudo-second-order rate equation indicating chemical sorption as the rate-limiting step of the adsorption, and the adsorption isotherm of Dy(III) and Eu(III) matched better with the Langmuir isotherm than the Freundlich isotherm with the adsorption amount around 0.22 and 0.20 mmol/g respectively. Thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption of both Dy(III) and Eu(III) on Me₂-CA-BTP/SiO₂-P was spontaneous and endothermic processes with a positive entropy at 298, 308, 313 K.     

Characterization of low molecular weight components of [(ViMe2SiO1/2)x(PhSiO3/2)y(SiO4/2)z], [(ViMe2SiO1/2)x(SiO4/2)y], and [(SiO4/2)x(HO1/2)y(tBuO1/2)z] silsesquioxanes by electrospray ionization fourier transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FTMS)

This paper describes the characterization of low molecular weight components of four materials using electrospray ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FTMS). The materials in the current study are [(ViMe₂SiO_1/2)_x(PhSiO_3/2)_y(SiO_4/2)_z] (MTQ), [(ViMe₂SiO_1/2)_x(SiO_4/2)_y] (MQ), and [(SiO_4/2)_x(HO_1/2)_y(^tBuO_1/2)_z] (Q) silsesquioxanes. Accurate mass measurements coupled with knowledge of resin chemistry afforded siloxane composition determination that was used to propose specific structures for the oligomers. Branched or linear (T_nQ_mM_n+2m+2), and monocyclic (T_nQ_mM_n+2m) structures are predominant structures for the low molecular weight species in MTQ. For MQ and Q, more condensed structures, such as partially opened cage structures (Q_mM_2m?6 and Q_mM_2m?8), were identified. The differences between MQ, Q, and MTQ are likely attributed to differences in intrinsic structure and reactivity of T and Q building blocks. The structural information obtained for these oligomeric species will ultimately provide a better understanding of new resin materials and their associated physical properties.     

Wetting behavior of porous silicon surfaces functionalized with a fulleropyrrolidine

We report the immobilization of a fulleropyrrolidine, bearing a dec-9-ynyl functionality, on silicon surfaces through a thermal hydrosilylation protocol. Contact angle measurements on porous silicon (PS) surfaces reveal an unusual dependence of the angle with the PS roughness that apparently contradicts Wenzel's formula. This result has been explained by an extension of Wenzel's model in which the critical angle, which discriminates between the hydrophilic/hydrophobic character of a solid material, is substantially reduced below 90 degrees by surface roughness.     

Wetting and adsorption: I. The structure of adsorbed layer of nonionic surfactants at SiO2/water and SiO2/cyclohexane interface

Based on the adsorption of Triton X-100 on silica/water and silica/cyclohexane interfaces and the adsorption of Triton X-305 on silica/water interface, two adsorption models have been proposed. On silica/cyclohexane interface, the adsorption of Triton X-100 is monomolecular layer. The molecules in the monolayer are presumed to be attached to the silica surface by their EO chain such that their hydrocarbon chain are exposed to the cyclohexane phase. On silica/water interface, the adsorption of Triton X-100 or Triton X-305 is bimolecular layer. The surfactant molecules orientated in the first layer are similar with that on the silica/cyclohexane interface. The molecules in the second layer are postulated to adsorb on those of the first in the opposite orientation, with EO chain directed toward the adsorption medium. The contact angle of quartz-water-cyclohexane (θ_W) as a function of the concentration of Triton X-100 and Triton X-305 in water has been measured with quartz plate employing the captive drop (cyclohexane) technique. The observed θ_W (measured through water) rose from < 10° to a maximum of about 120° for Triton X-100 and of about 40° for Triton X-305 as the concentration of surfactant in water increased, and then fell, as the concentration increased further. The results are consistent with the proposed adsorption models.     

Synergistic improvement of foam stability with SiO2 nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) and different surfactants

Foam fluids are widely used in petroleum engineering, but long-standing foam stability problems have limited the effectiveness of their use. The study explores the synergistic effects and influencing factors of SiO₂ nanoparticles (SiO₂-NPs) with different wettability properties and three different surfactants. The paper investigates the foaming performance of different types of surfactants and analyzes and compares the stability of foam after adding hydrophilic and hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs from macroscopic as well as microscopic perspectives, and the effects of temperature and inorganic salts on the stability of mixed solutions. The experimental results show that: 1) hydrophilic nanoparticles can significantly enhance the foam stability of amphoteric surfactants, with a small increase in the foam stability of anionic and cationic surfactants; 2) The concentration of nanoparticles did not have a significant effect on the stability of the cationic surfactants and this conclusion was verified in the experimental results of the surface tension measured below;3) The cationic surfactants showed better temperature resistance at temperatures of 50–90 °C. Both amphoteric surfactant solutions with the addition of hydrophilic SiO₂-NPs or hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs significantly improved the temperature resistance of the foam at high temperatures. The anionic surfactant solution with hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs did not enhance the solution temperature resistance; 4) The surface tension of the surfactant solution gradually increases with increasing concentration of hydrophilic or hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs and then levels off; 5) the hydrophilic SiO₂-NPs had a significant effect on the salt tolerance of the anionic and amphoteric surfactant solutions. The salt tolerance of cationic surfactant solutions with hydrophobic SiO₂-NPs was better than that of surfactants with hydrophilic SiO₂-NPs.     

Photonics of perylene on the surface of SiO2

Stationary and kinetic spectrofluorometry and diffuse reflection spectroscopy have been used to study the photophysics and photochemistry of perylene, adsorbed on the surface of porous (silica gel) and nonporous (aerosil) silica after thermal activation in air (at 453, 773, and 1073 K) as function of the degree of surface coverage.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 231–235, March–April, 1988.     

Comparison of liquid chromatographic behaviors on N-methylimidazolium functionalized ZrO(2)/SiO(2)-4 and N-methylimidazolium functionalized SiO(2) stationary phases

A new stationary phase N-methylimidazolium functionalized ZrO(2)/SiO(2)-4 (Zr/SilprMim) has been prepared. The chromatographic property of this stationary phase is investigated by ion chromatography (IC) with inorganic and organic anions, and normal phase HPLC with basic compounds and hydroxybenzenes. The effects of pH and the strength of Lewis base of eluent on separation of anions are studied. This new stationary phase is also compared with a N-methylimidazolium functionalized SiO(2) stationary phase (SilprMim). The results show that this new stationary phase can be used in analysis of inorganic anions with great prospects. At the same time, successful separations of some organic anions can be obtained by using phosphate buffer solution as mobile phase. This new stationary phase also has a distinct advantage in the separation of basic compounds in normal phase. But due to the presence of Lewis acid sites on the surface of ZrO(2)/SiO(2)-4, Lewis bases such as hydroxybenzenes adsorb very strongly on this new stationary phase, and Lewis acid sites can be masked or modified by the eluent that contain Lewis base groups.