Silicon oxycarbide glasses from gels

Silicon-oxycarbide glasses can be synthesized from modified silica gels through a pyrolysis process in inert atmosphere. A critical analysis of the literature suggests a close relationship between oxygen content in the gel precursors and the amount of carbon atoms covalently bonded to silicon atoms in the corresponding silicon-oxycarbide phase. The problem of the formation of a free carbon phase will be discussed and related to the amount of carbon in the starting gel. An example of successful synthesis of an almost pure carbon-rich oxycarbide phase will also be presented.     

Atmosphere effects in the processing of silicon carbide and silicon oxycarbide thin films and coatings

Silicon carbide and silicon oxycarbide films were prepared from solutions of polycarbosilane and methyldimethoxysilane + tetraethoxysilane, respectively, and deposited on different substrates (Si wafers, stainless steel plates, sapphire and SiC fibers). The coatings were heated at different temperatures and in different atmospheres, such as regular grade argon, ultra high purity and argon vacuum. The films were characterized using different techniques (FT-IR, XRD, SIMS, Ellipsometry).The influence of the processing parameters (heat treatment temperature and atmosphere) on the final microstructure of the coatings is discussed in this article.     

Ambient pressure dried tetrapropoxysilane-based silica aerogels with high specific surface area

In the present paper, we report the synthesis of tetrapropoxysilane (TPOS)-based silica aerogels with high surface area and large pore volume. The silica aerogels were prepared by a two-step sol-gel process followed by surface modification via a simple ambient pressure drying approach. In order to minimize drying shrinkage and obtain hydrophobic aerogels, the surface of the alcogels was modified using trichloromethylsilane as a silylating agent. The effect of the sol-gel compositional parameters on the polymerization of aerogels prepared by TPOS, one of the precursors belonging to the Si(OR)₄ family, was reported for the first time. The oxalic acid and NH₄OH concentrations were adjusted to achieve good-quality aerogels with high surface area, low density, and high transparency. Controlling the hydrolysis and condensation reactions of the TPOS precursor turned out to be the most important factor to determine the pore characteristics of the aerogel. Highly transparent aerogels with high specific surface area (938 m²/g) and low density (0.047 g/cm³) could be obtained using an optimized TPOS/MeOH molar ratio with appropriate concentrations of oxalic acid and NH₄OH.     

Thermal stability of high surface area silicon carbide materials

The synthesis of mesoporous silicon carbide by chemical vapor infiltration of dimethyl dichlorosilane into mesoporous silica SBA-15 and subsequent dissolution of the silica matrix with HF was investigated. The influence of the synthesis parameters of the composite material (SiC/SBA-15) on the final product (mesoporous SiC) was determined. Depending on the preparation conditions, materials with specific surface areas from 410 to 830 m² g⁻¹ and pore sizes between 2 and 10 nm with high mesopore volume (0.31-0.96 cm³ g⁻¹) were prepared. Additionally, the thermal stability of mesoporous silicon carbide at 1573 K in an inert atmosphere (argon) was investigated, and compared to that of SBA-15 and ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-1). Mesoporous SiC has a much higher thermal textural stability as compared to SBA-15, but a lower stability than ordered mesoporous carbon CMK-1.     

Influence of the nature of organic groups on the properties of organically modified silica aerogels

Organically modified aerogels were prepared by NH₄OH-catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation of RSi(OMe)₃ (R = Me, Pr ⁿ , Ph, Bu ⁱ )/Si(OMe)₄ or (MeO)₃Si-Y-Si(OMe)₃/Si(OMe)₄ (Y = C₂H₄, p-C₆H₄, C₆H₁₂) mixtures, followed by supercritical drying of the alcogels with methanol. Starting from 1:4 mixtures of RSi(OMe)₃ and Si(OMe)₄, hydrophobic aerogels with nearly no residual Si-OH or Si-OMe groups were obtained. These aerogels were therefore insensitive towards moisture. Their elastic constant was distinctly lower than that of unmodified silica aerogels. Aerogels similarly prepared from 1:8 mixtures of (MeO)₃Si-Y-Si(OMe)₃ and Si(OMe)₄ had a rather high concentration of residual Si-OMe groups, and therefore they were hydrophilic. Their elasticity was about the same as that of unmodified silica aerogels. The difference between the two types of aerogels suggests different microstructures, depending on the nature of the organic groups.     

Synthesis of high surface area potassium hexatitanate powders by sol-gel method

Potassium hexatitanate (K₂Ti₆O₁₃) powders were synthesized by sol-gel method using supercritical drying to produce ion-exchangeable fine powders with high surface area. The effects of titanium alkoxides and mole ratios of K/Ti were investigated. By using sol-gel method, potassium hexatitanate powders were obtained at 630°C which is 350°C lower than that by melting method. The surface area of this sample was about 30–40 m²/g which was higher than that of melting method sample. Addition of H₂O and decrease in mole ratios of K/Ti increased surface area of powders.This work was partially supported by the IAEA (Research Program on Waste Treatment Immobilization Technologies Involving Inorganic Sorbent) contract. Many thanks to the IAEA's support.     

Preparation of high surface area ZrO2 and ZrO2-Y2O3 from the alkoxide

In order to obtain a catalyst support with a high surface area, ZrO₂ and ZrO₂-Y₂O₃ were prepared by the hydrolytic decomposition of the corresponding isopropoxide dissolved in benzene. The hydrolysis was carried out at 80°C using an excess amount of distilled water in flowing dry nitrogen. The precipitates thus obtained were dried at 100°C followed by calcination at 500°C in air or nitrogen for 1 h. The specific surface areas for both of the ZrO₂ and ZrO₂-Y₂O₃ increased with increasing amount of water added for hydrolysis, and the surface areas for ZrO₂-Y₂O₃ increased with increasing yttrium content. A ZrO₂ having a surface area of 130 m²/g was produced, and a stabilized tetragonal ZrO₂ with 15 mol% Y³⁺ having a surface area of 200 m²/g was produced. Furthermore, despite the difference in the ZrO₂ and ZrO₂-Y₂O₃ crystal structures, the lattice-strain of ZrO₂ has been unequivocally related to the surface area.     

Mechanisms of surface processes in silicon etching

A unified view on the mechanism allowing one to explain the experimental features governing spontaneous silicon etching by atomic fluorine is presented. Analysis of the phenomenological equation of adsorption shows a significant difference between etching mechanisms at high and low heat of adsorption on the surface being etched. As follows from the parameter estimates, one or another case can be realized under different experimental conditions. At steady-state the etching is argued to be determined only by the processes taking place on the SiF. film surface. To describe the process, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of overcoming the surface barrier for fluorine penetration into the film. At low heat of fluorine adsorption the barrier is overcome by thermal activation. In the opposite case the etching mechanism includes electron tunneling from silicon to adatoms and creation of a surface electric field. The field lowers the high energetic barrier for fluorine penetration. Based on the kinetic equations describing the electronic and atomic processes on the surface, the equation of the field strength is obtained. This equation is analyzed in different limit cases. The observed features are shown to be reproduced at some conditions on the parameters. Definite predictions on the temperature dependence of the etch rate are made.     

Determination of the reactive surface area of silica

Summary The surface area available for reaction in silylation reactions has been determined by reaction of the silica with a radioactively labelled alkyldimethylchlorosilane followed by liquid scintillation counting of either a solid or a dissolved silica sample. The results are compared with values obtained by nitrogen adsorption and the pore size distributions of the products before and after reaction.Presented at the 14th International Symposium on Chromatography London, September, 1982     

Thermal analysis of fluorine containing gels and precursors of high silica zeolites

By means of simultaneous DTA-, TG- and DTG-technique, the silicate gels and the MFI crystals obtained from these gels have been investigated. The gels have been prepared in presence and in absence of tetrapropylammonium cation (TPA⁺) and with Li⁺, Na⁺, NH ₄ ⁺ and K⁺ fluorides. In absence of TPA⁺ no thermal effects have been observed in Li⁺- and Na⁺-gels. The effects observed in the NH ₄ ⁺ -gel stem from a decomposition and release of inorganic phases: SiF₄, NH₄F, NH₃. The DTA/DTG effects in the TPA⁺ containing gels and in the MFI crystals of monodisperse size are attributed to the decomposition of TPA⁺ cation. It can be concluded from these effects that the interaction between the gels and the TPA⁺ cation is rather weak. The interaction between TPA⁺ and MFI crystals obtained in fluoride medium is stronger than the interaction with crystals obtained from alkaline media. Similar thermal effects are obtained after grinding the long crystals to those having a large distribution of crystal sizes.

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Zusammenfassung Mittels simultaner DTA-, TG- und DTG-Techniken wurden Kieselgele und die MFI-Kristalle dieser Gele untersucht. Die Gele wurden in und ohne Gegenwart von Tetrapropylammoniumkationen (TPA⁺) und mit Li⁺-, Na⁺-, NH ₄ ^– und Kaliumfluoriden hergestellt. Bei Abwesenheit von TPA⁺ werden für Li⁺- und Na⁺-Gele keine thermischen Effekte beobachtet. Der bei NH ^4– -Gelen beobachtete Effekt ergibt sich aus der Zersetzung und Abspaltung von anorganischen Phasen: SiF₄, NH₄F, NH₃. Die DTA/DTG-Effekte in TPA⁺-haltigen Gelen und in den MFI-Kristallen monodispersen Ausmaes werden der Zersetzung des TPA⁺-Kations zugeschrieben. Daraus kann man schlieen, da die Wechselwirkung zwischen den Gelen und dem TPA⁺-Kation eher schwach ist. Die Wechselwirkung zwischen TPA⁺ und MFI-Kristallen aus fluoridischen Medien ist strker als die Wechselwirkung mit Kristallen aus alkalischen Medien. Ähnliche thermische Effekts erhlt man, nachdem man die langen Kristalle zerkleinert und eine breite Kristallgrenverteilung erhlt.

     

Study of the interactions between carbon monoxide and high specific surface area tin dioxideThermogravimetric analysis and FTIR spectroscopy

The interactions of CO with a high specific surface area tin dioxide was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. FTIR study of CO interactions have shown that CO can adsorb on cus (coordinatively unsaturated sites) Sn⁴⁺ cation sites (band at 2201 cm^-1). In addition, CO reacts with surface oxygen atoms. This leads to the partial reduction of SnO₂ surface and to the formation of ionised oxygen vacancies together with the release of free electrons, which are responsible for the loss of transmission. Formed CO₂ can chemisorb on specific surface sites: on basic sites to form carbonates species and on acidic sites (Sn⁴⁺-CO₂ species) which is in competition with the formation of Sn⁴⁺-CO species. TG experiment have shown that the reduction of SnO₂ by CO at 400°C occurs in two steps. First, the reduction of SnO₂ surface, which is a quick phenomenon. This has allowed to evaluate that more than 12% of reducible surface oxygens can react with CO, essentially because of the presence of a large amount of surface hydroxyl groups. The second step of the reduction of SnO₂ would be the progressive reduction of SnO₂ bulk by the slow diffusion of oxygen atoms from the bulk to the surface. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Joint neighbors approximation of macromolecular solvent accessible surface area

A new method for approximate analytical calculations of solvent accessible surface area (SASA) for arbitrary molecules and their gradients with respect to their atomic coordinates was developed. This method is based on the recursive procedure of pairwise joining of neighboring atoms. Unlike other available methods of approximate SASA calculations, the method has no empirical parameters, and therefore can be used with comparable accuracy in calculations of SASA in folded and unfolded conformations of macromolecules of any chemical nature. As shown by tests with globular proteins in folded conformations, average errors in absolute atomic surface area is around 1 A2, while for unfolded protein conformations it varies from 1.65 to 1.87 A2. Computational times of the method are comparable with those by GETAREA, one of the fastest exact analytical methods available today.     

Enhancing antireflection property of silicon through direct picosecond laser surface texturing

Crystalline silicon was laser surface textured by picosecond pulsed laser to enhance its antireflection property. The influence of laser scan speed and number of passes in fabricating the uniform surface microtexture were evaluated. Surface texture so generated was investigated and a grid of spherical domes and cavities, with nanoripples in the order of incident laser wavelength spread over it was observed. Reflectivity of bare silicon was greater than 40% and was significantly reduced well below 2% upon laser texturing, over a wavelength range of 400 to 700 nm. Antireflecting surface is an essential requirement for more efficient performance of devices for optical and photovoltaic application.     

多孔硅的模板限制镁热还原法制备及性能

采用一种基于气-固反应机制的模板限制镁热还原法,以SiO2气凝胶为模板在低温(650℃)下制备出一种高比表面积纳米多孔硅材料.利用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、傅里叶变换红外(FTIR)光谱、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和比表面积(BET)分析等表征手段对样品的成分、物相结构、微观形貌和孔结构进行分析,并初步研究了材料的光学特性和电化学性能.结果表明,产物为纳米硅晶体颗粒组成的多孔结构,保留了与原始气凝胶模板相似的微观形貌,比表面积高达602 m2·g-1.该材料在室温下表现出显著的红光光致发光特性,且具有较高的储锂容量和较好的嵌入/脱出锂性能.     

High surface area V-Mo-N materials synthesized from amine intercalated foams

Nanocrystalline ternary V-Mo nitrides were prepared via nitridation of amine intercalated oxide foams or bulk ternary oxides. Specific surface areas were in the range between 40 and 198 m² g⁻¹ and strongly depended on the preparation method (foam or bulk oxide). Foamed precursors were favorable for vanadium rich materials, while for molybdenum rich samples bulk ternary oxides resulted in higher specific surface areas. The materials were characterized via nitrogen physisorption at 77 K, X-ray diffraction patterns, electron microscopy, and elemental analysis.     

Diffusion Structural Analysis for characterization of ceramics and glasses from gels: I. Principle of the method and its use in the study of silica gels preparation

The Diffusion Structural Analysis (DSA) is described as a new tool for characterization of the processes taking place during preparation of ceramics and glasses from gels. Examples of the DSA application in the silica gels preparation from TEOS are demonstrated. The DSA results are compared with the results of optical transparency and pH measurements during sol-gel transition.     

Thermal behaviour of high surface area V2O5/TiO2 catalysts

Thermal analysis (TG and DTA) was employed for the characterization of V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts supported on high surface area TiO₂. The results obtained are consistent with a uniform spreading of vanadium oxide on TiO₂ surface for V₂O₅ content less than 15% by weight.The presence of V₂O₅ on the surface of TiO₂ affects the anatase-rutile phase transition lowering the temperature at which it occurs.DTA measurements, performed on catalysts after many months from the preparation, show the appearance of an exothermic peak in the range 280°–340°C. This signal has been related to the oxidation of V(IV) to V(V) on the catalyst surface.Catalysts characterization, performed by chemical analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy, has confirmed this interpretation.It has been suggested that a slow modification of the catalyst occurs, leading to an increase of the V(IV) content during the time.

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Zusammenfassung Zur Charakterisierung von V₂O₅/TiO₂-Katalysatoren auf hochoberflächigem TiO₂ Trägermaterial wurde die Thermoanalyse (TG und DTA) angewendet. Für einen V₂O₅-Gehalt von weniger als 15 Gew.% entsprechen die erhaltenen Ergebnisse einer gleichmäßigen Verteilung des Vanadiumoxides an der TiO₂-Oberfläche.Die Gegenwart von V₂O₅ an der Oberfläche von TiO₂ beeinflußt die Anatas-Rutil-Phasenumwandlung, indem sie die zugehörige Temperatur verringert.DTA-Messungen an Katalysatoren mehrere Monate nach ihrer Herstellung zeigten das Auftreten eines exothermen Peaks im Bereich 280°–340°C. Dieses Signal wurde der Oxidation von V(IV) zu V(V) an der Katalysatoroberfläche zugeschrieben.Diese Interpretation konnte durch eine Charakterisierung des Katalysatoren durch chemische Analyse und FT-IR-Spektroskopie bestätigt werden.Es wurde angedeutet, daß der Katalysator mit der Zeit einer langsamen Modifikation unterliegt, die zu einem Ansteigen des V(IV)-Gehaltes führt.

     

The influence of the concentration of surface boron atoms on the properties of column packings with bonded C18 groups,prepared from controlled-porosity glasses II. Liquid chromatography

Summary In the preparation of C₁₈-bonded phases higher coverage densities were obtained using dimethylaminodimethyl-n-octadecylsilane than chlorodimethyl-n-octadecylsilane as the reagents. The HPLC results show the very high hydrophobicity of the materials obtained. The elution mechanism has been found to be independent of the coverage density on the boron-enriched glass surface in the range 2.3–4.0 mol/m².Originally presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, October 1–5, 1984, Nürnberg