Structure and properties of sol-gel coatings from methyltriethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane

Acid catalyzed solutions of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) were used to obtain bulk materials and silica coatings of about 2 m, after densification at 500°C. The structural evolution as a function of MTES content and heat treatment was studied.A higher content of MTES was found to enhance the maximum thickness of the coatings free of cracks. Critical thickness and shrinkage of the films were measured. MTES was also found to affect porosity and to play an important role in avoiding fractures in the films.     

纳米SiO2含量的分光光度法测定

在纳米粒子的应用中，确定溶液中纳米微粒的含量十分重要。目前，对于含有纳米微粒的水溶液体系中纳米微粒的分析，如纳米复合镀溶液、纳米复合化学镀溶液、纳米浆料等基本采用重量分析法。重量分析法存在操作工序多、费时、无法实现适时监控等缺点，而且由于纳米微粒悬浮性很强，在多次清洗、分离过程中难免丢样，实验误差较大。     

Characterization of SiO2 protective coatings on polycarbonate

SiO₂ protective coatings have been deposited on polycarbonate substrates by plasma ion assisted deposition. The influence of ion energy on the water permeability and the surface topography of the coatings was studied by infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Coatings deposited at sufficiently high ion energies show a barrier effect against moisture uptake and considerably reduced film roughness. Both effects are attributed to an increase of the packing densities of the coatings.     

Structural model of silica nanowire assembled from a highly stable (SiO2)8 unit

The ground-state structures of silica clusters (SiO2)n for n = 1-8 were studied by performing calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d) level of density functional theory. The results indicate that the growth mode of a silica nanowire based on small silica clusters may change at different wire lengths. A linear chain might be assembled from the smallest clusters of rhombic two-membered ring (2MR) with n < or = 5, while the growth motif changes at n = 6 into a more compact form composed of three-membered-rings (3MRs). The 3MR-containing structures become energetically favorable configurations for even longer silica clusters. In particular, the closed molecular ring consisting of 3MRs at n = 8 (i.e., (SiO2)8) with a high symmetry shows extreme energetic stability and relatively high chemical reactivity and thus is considered to be an important building block to assemble into silica nanowires. The relative stability of so-assembled silica nanowires were evaluated and compared with the models of silica nanowires in the literature.     

In situ coating of flame-made TiO2 particles with nanothin SiO2 films

Rutile TiO2 particles made by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) were coated in a single step with SiO2 layers in an enclosed flame reactor. This in situ particle coating was accomplished by a hollow ring delivering hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) vapor (precursor to SiO2) through multiple jets in swirl cross-flow to Al-doped nanostructured rutile TiO2 aerosol freshly made by FSP of a solution of titanium tetraisopropoxide and aluminum sec-butoxide in xylene. The as-prepared powders were characterized by (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (STEM and TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, electrophoretic mobility, DC plasma optical emission (DCP-OES), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The coating quality was assessed further by the photocatalytic oxidation of isopropyl alcohol to acetone. The effect of HMDSO injection point and vapor concentration on product particle morphology was investigated. The titania particles were uniformly SiO2-coated with controlled and uniform thickness at a production rate of about 30 g h(-1) and exhibited limited, if any, photoactivity. In contrast, spraying and combusting equivalent mixtures of the above Si/Al/Ti precursors in the above reactor (without delivering HMDSO through the hollow ring) resulted in particles segregated in amorphous (SiO2) and crystalline (TiO2) domains which exhibited high photocatalytic activity.     

Synthesis of a conducting SiO2-carbon composite from commercial silicone grease and its conversion to paramagnetic SiO2 particles

The thermal decomposition of commercial silicone grease was carried out in a closed reactor (Swagelok) that was heated at 800 degrees C for 3 h, yielding a SiO2-carbon composite with a BET surface area of 369 m2/g. The bulk conductivity (5.72 x 10(-6) S x cm(-2)) of the SiO2-carbon composite was determined by impedance measurements. The as-prepared SiO2-carbon composite was further annealed at 500 degrees C in air for 2 h, which led to the formation of white paramagnetic silica particles (confirmed by ESR), possessing a surface area of 111 m2/g. The present synthetic technique requires unsophisticated equipment and a low-cost commercial precursor, and the reaction is carried out without a solvent, surfactant, or catalyst. The mechanism for the formation of a porous SiO2-carbon composite from the silicone grease is also presented.     

Electrochemical behaviour of SiO2 sol-gel coatings on stainless steel

SiO₂ coatings onto stainless steel substrates have been prepared by sol-gel in order to study the performance and mechanism of attack in different corrosive solutions. The electrochemical behaviour of the samples has been evaluated by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy using NaCl and HCl as electrolytes. Comparative tests have been performed on samples with one and two silica layers as well as on uncoated ones. SiO₂ coatings produce no important protection of stainless steels subjected to electrochemical corrosion. This behaviour may be explained by micropores and microcracks produced during the coating sintering.     

Size dependence of SiO2 particles enhanced glucose biosensor

A wide size range of SiO₂ particles were synthesized and were used as enzyme immobilization carriers to fabricate glucose biosensors. The size of the particles was in the range of 17-520 nm. These biosensors could be operated under physiological conditions (0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.2). Particle size could affect the performance of SiO₂ modified glucose biosensors drastically. The smaller particles had higher performance. The smallest SiO₂ modified biosensor could work well in the glucose concentration range of 0.02-10 mM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9993. Its sensitivity was 2.08 μA/mM and the detection limit was 1.5 μM glucose.     

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)     

SiO2负载的TiO2光催化剂可见光催化降解染料污染物

 采用酸催化溶胶-凝胶法制备了SiO2负载的TiO2光催化剂,考察了制备条件对负载型TiO2光催化剂的晶相、结构、比表面积和可见光催化活性的影响. 结果表明,采用SiO2为载体时,TiO2以纳米颗粒的形态分散在载体表面,负载型TiO2/SiO2催化剂的比表面积大、等电点低而且热稳定性能良好. 偶氮染料酸性橙7的可见光催化降解实验结果表明,染料污染物在催化剂表面的吸附是影响催化剂可见光催化活性的重要因素. 与试剂TiO2样品相比,负载型TiO2/SiO2光催化剂具有更好的光催化活性和沉降性能.     

氮掺杂TiO2/SiO2核壳型复合微球的制备及其可见光催化性能

 以单分散性良好的SiO2微球为模板,以钛酸四丁酯为钛源,利用化学吸附和原位水解方法制备了TiO2/SiO2核壳结构复合微球,并在氨气气氛下进行了氮掺杂. 以罗丹明B水溶液的光催化降解为模型反应,评价了所制试样在可见光照射下的光催化活性,并借助透射电镜、高分辨透射电镜、 X射线衍射、紫外-可见漫反射光谱、红外光谱和X射线光电子能谱等测试手段对其结构、形貌和光谱性质进行了表征. 结果表明,氮掺杂TiO2/SiO2为核壳结构, TiO2包覆层厚约10 nm. 由于SiO2核与TiO2壳间形成了 Ti-O-Si 键, TiO2的热稳定性增强. 掺杂的氮形成了 Ti-O-N 键. 600 ℃下氮化1 h得到的试样的可见光活性最佳. 由于结合了SiO2核优良的吸附性能及氮掺杂TiO2壳的可见光响应性能,该复合微球在整体上表现出比P25更优的光催化活性.     

Tat peptide mediated cellular uptake of SiO2 submicron particles

Internalization of nano- and microparticles into live cells correlates closely with their potential applications, functions, cytotoxicity and intracellular drug delivery. Particularly, delivery of a large variety of cargoes such as proteins, peptides, nucleic acids and small particles into cells could be enhanced by some ligands such as Tat peptide. In this work, the ability of Tat mediated cellular uptake was assessed. The Tat peptide was covalently immobilized to fluorescein tagged SiO₂ particles (FITC–SiO₂–NH₂ particles) with a diameter of 200 nm. BCA protein assay determined that the grafting amount of the Tat peptide could be controlled within a range of 0–3.5 μg/mg SiO₂ particles by the Tat feeding amount. Surface immobilization of the Tat peptide did not bring apparent changes on the surface morphology and charge property of the SiO₂–NH₂ particles. By contrast, the surface charge of both the FITC–SiO₂–NH₂ particles and the FITC–SiO₂–Tat particles was reversed from slight positive in Dulbecco's Modified Eagles Medium (DMEM) to slight negative in DMEM/fetal bovine serum, conveying adsorption of plasma proteins on the particles. Flow cytometry measurement showed that the FITC–SiO₂–Tat particles were internalized by HepG2 cells with a significant faster rate and a higher number of particles than that of the FITC–SiO₂–NH₂ particles. Moreover, internalization of the Tat peptide decorated particles was less influenced by the low temperature at 4 °C. The Tat decoration affected the subcellular distribution of the particles as well, resulting in localization of the particles in the cell nucleus. No obvious cytotoxicity was detected for both the FITC–SiO₂–NH₂ particles and the FITC–SiO₂–Tat particles.     

Structural and optical investigations of SiO2-CdS core-shell particles

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (approximately 5 nm), chemically capped using thioglycerol molecules, have been anchored onto silica particles (approximately 80 nm) functionalized with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. Transmission electron microscopy clearly showed that at a low concentration of cadmium sulfide, nanoparticles were discretely and more or less uniformly attached onto the silica particles. At a high concentration of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles, an approximately 6-nm-thick compact shell of cadmium sulfide was formed on the silica particles. In both cases the nanocrystalline nature of cadmium sulfide particles was preserved, as is evident from X-ray diffraction and optical absorption spectra.     

Adhesion of protective coatings with modified filler

The effect of physical (ultrasonic) and chemical (exposure in 3% solution of acetic acid) activation of filler on the adhesion strength of the protective coatings based on styrene–acrylic dispersions to different substrates is studied. It is shown that modification of kaolins allows one to increase the adhesion strength by 40–50% in the case of the physical activation and by 1.1–1.2 times in the case of chemical activation. The best results are achieved with the use of E-21 dispersion as the polymer matrix.     

Methyltriethoxysilane-derived sol-gel coatings doped with silver metal particles

Silica sol-gel films were prepared by dipping, starting from an acid catalyzed solution of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). Silver metal nanoparticles were produced in the silica layer by introducing in the sol-gel precursor solution AgNO₃ or AgClO₄·H₂O. The silver ions were thermally reduced in air at 800°C, giving an intense yellow coating film. The silver metal particles were observed by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The diameter of the silver particles was found to be about 10 nm. Absorption measurements in the UV-Vis were used to evaluate the volume fraction of silver colloids embedded in the silica layer.     

Electrochemical determination of hesperidin using mesoporous SiO2 modified electrode

A simple micro-capillary electrophoresis system to be used as disposable device was developed. A short commercial capillary was used as the separation channel, hydrostatic pressure generated by the sample employed for injection, and a voltage of 200 V used for separation in a 6 cm long capillary assisted by hydrostatic pressure of the carrier. The device was used for the separation of dopamine and catechol. Good reproducibility and efficiency was obtained. Because the instrumentation and operation conditions were simplified, and a replaceable modular separation channel was used, the proposed micro-capillary electrophoresis system is potentially useful in disposable devices.     

SiO2/曙红Y-Pt体系可见光催化分解水制氢研究

光催化分解水制氢是可再生能源的重要问题之一[1].现已发现,许多半导体都具有受光激发后还原水放氢的活性,如TiO2,SrTiO3,CdS等[1~4],一些复合氧化物也具有良好光催化分解水制氢活性[5~7].虽然光催化分解水制氢取得了巨大的进步,但是仍面临着一些亟待解决的问题,如通常稳定的半导体材料TiO2和Ta2O5,仅对占太阳光谱约5%的紫外光敏感;而对可见光敏感的半导体材料,如CdS又不稳定,在反应过程中会发生光腐蚀.掺杂和敏化稳定的宽禁带半导体使其对可见光敏感成为一个重要的努力方向.重大的突破出现在1991年,Gratzel等利用Ru染料敏化TiO2电池…     

Indirect atomic absorption spectroscopic determination of SiO2 in copper composite coatings

A fast, sensitive and reliable method for the indirect atomic absorption determination of SiO₂ in copper composite coatings after extraction of silicomolybdic acid in a mixture of isobutyl methyl ketone and butanol (volume ratio 5?:?1) and measurement of the molybdenum absorbance in an air/acetylene flame is described. The experimental conditions are optimized for (i) prevention of the silicon polymerization during sample preparation and storage; (ii) for overcoming of the Cu(SiF₆) – complex formation and (iii) for quantitative extraction of the yellow complex into the organic phase for a wide silicon concentration range. The method permits the determination of 0.5–10 mg/g Si in copper. The analytical performance of the proposed method is compared with direct Si determination using ICP-AES.     

Indirect atomic absorption spectroscopic determination of SiO2 in copper composite coatings

A fast, sensitive and reliable method for the indirect atomic absorption determination of SiO₂ in copper composite coatings after extraction of silicomolybdic acid in a mixture of isobutyl methyl ketone and butanol (volume ratio 5 : 1) and measurement of the molybdenum absorbance in an air/acetylene flame is described. The experimental conditions are optimized for (i) prevention of the silicon polymerization during sample preparation and storage; (ii) for overcoming of the Cu(SiF₆) – complex formation and (iii) for quantitative extraction of the yellow complex into the organic phase for a wide silicon concentration range. The method permits the determination of 0.5–10 mg/g Si in copper. The analytical performance of the proposed method is compared with direct Si determination using ICP-AES. Received: 15 May 1997 / Revised: 19 September 1997 / Accepted: 25 September 1997     

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.