Characterization of Titania/Silica Gel by Means of Low-Pressure Nitrogen Adsorption

Adsorbents synthesized by grafting of titania onto mesoporous silica gel surfaces at different temperatures were studied by means of nitrogen adsorption–desorption and water desorption. The pore size distribution f(R_p) of titania/silica gel depends on the titania concentration (C_TiO2) and the temperature of titania synthesis. Nonuniformity of TiO₂ phase is maximal at a low C_TiO2 value (3.2 wt.% anatase deposited at 473 K), and two peaks of the fractal dimension distribution f(D) are observed at such a concentration of titania, but at larger C_TiO2 values, only one f(D) peak is seen. More ordered filling of pores and adsorption sites by nitrogen, reflecting in the shape of adsorption energy distributions f(E) at different pressures of adsorbate, is observed for adsorbent with titania (rutile+anatase) grafted on silica gel at a higher temperature (673 K).     

Surface properties and catalytic activity of pure and silica-coated aluminas

The surface properties of predominantly microporous, mesoporous, and nonporous alumina samples were studied and compared with samples modified by coating with a fixed amount of silica on their surfaces. The samples were characterized in terms of their specific surface areas, pore structure, and the chemistry of the surface, namely, surface acidity and surface OHs. An attempt was made to relate the activity toward cumene cracking with the chemistry as well as the predominant pore size. This study will hopefully reveal the role of the pore structure of alumina in determining its adsorption and catalytic activity and also the effect of doping with silica in modifying the surface properties of alumina.     

Nitrogen Adsorption Studies of PAN-Based Activated Carbon Fibers Prepared by Different Activation Methods

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based activated carbon fibers (ACFs) prepared by various activation methods were characterized using low-temperature nitrogen adsorption over a wide relative pressure from 10⁻⁶ to 1. Nitrogen adsorption is a standard tool for determination of porous structure parameters. In the present work, we carried out extensive adsorption studies of a series of PAN-ACFs activated by different methods. It was shown that the high-resolution α_S plot provided valuable information about structural properties of samples under study. The pore size distributions of samples under study were calculated by employing the regularization method according to density functional theory. By these analyses, the pore development and the dominant pores of samples prepared by different methods can be clearly observed. Moreover, the adsorption measurement could provide profound insight into the structural heterogeneity of the ACFs.     

微孔-介孔复合结构分子筛的合成及表征研究

以工业现有的ZSM-5作为原料,经一定化学处理的ZSM-5作为部分硅铝源,与介孔分子筛的凝胶在水热条件下进行组装得到具有微孔、介孔双孔分布的复合分子筛,并采用XRD、N2吸附脱附、IR、SEM、TEM等测试手段对合成样品进行分析表征,考察了主要合成条件对分子筛性能的影响.结果表明,合成过程中微孔与介孔结构之间会相互转化,样品中微孔与介孔特征峰存在此消彼长的关系.非临氢反应结果表明,复合分子筛具有较高的异构化选择性.     

Equilibrium adsorption in cylindrical mesopores: a modified Broekhoff and de Boer theory versus density functional theory

This paper presents a thermodynamic analysis of capillary condensation phenomena in cylindrical pores. Here, we modified the Broekhoff and de Boer (BdB) model for cylindrical pores accounting for the effect of the pore radius on the potential exerted by the pore walls. The new approach incorporates the recently published standard nitrogen and argon adsorption isotherm on nonporous silica LiChrospher Si-1000. The developed model is tested against the nonlocal density functional theory (NLDFT), and the criterion for this comparison is the condensation/evaporation pressure versus the pore diameter. The quantitative agreement between the NLDFT and the refined version of the BdB theory is ascertained for pores larger than 2 nm. The modified BdB theory was applied to the experimental adsorption branch of adsorption isotherms of a number of MCM-41 samples to determine their pore size distributions (PSDs). It was found that the PSDs determined with the new BdB approach coincide with those determined with the NLDFT (also using the experimental adsorption branch). As opposed to the NLDFT, the modified BdB theory is very simple in its utilization and therefore can be used as a convenient tool to obtain PSDs of all mesoporous solids from the analysis of the adsorption branch of adsorption isotherms of any subcritical fluids.     

Investigation of СО<Subscript>2</Subscript> adsorption on amine-functionalized silicas and metal-organic polymers

Adsorption properties of amine-functionalized mesoporous silica NH₂-SBA-15, zeolite-like imidazole framework ZIF-8, and amine-functionalized metal-organic polymer NH₂-MIL-53 have been investigated. Non-modified mesoporous adsorbent SBA-15 has a higher sorption capacity for CO₂ than microporous ZIF-8, although microporous sample is characterized by a larger surface area and the values of total pore volume are close. When amine groups are present on the surface of the adsorbents, the chemical adsorption contributes more then the physical one. The adsorption capacity increases with increasing concentration of the functional groups which, in its turn, correlates with adsorbent surface area. Among the studied samples, the best adsorption properties demonstrate amine-functionalized adsorbents, aminefunctionalized mesoporous silica NH₂-SBA-15, and amine-functionalized metal-organic polymer NH₂-MIL-53.     

Influence of Surface Hydrophobic Groups on the Adsorption of Proteins onto Nonporous Polymeric Particles with Immobilized Metal Ions

Iminodiacetic acid (IDA) and octyl moieties were covalently bound on nonporous particles, which were prepared from dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate. After being charged with copper ions, the IDA-bound particles could specifically adsorb deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) through the affinity interaction between protein and immobilized metal ion. A mixed-ligand (metal–chelate and octyl–bound) support was obtained after hydrophobic (octyl) groups were also introduced to the particle surface. The affinity adsorption of DNase I on the copper–IDA chelate was influenced by interaction between the protein and the bound octyl group. Both the affinity and the hydrophobic interactions could be well described by the Langmuir isotherms. The equilibrium adsorption constants were estimated separately to be 0.96 and 0.50 liter g⁻¹ for affinity and hydrophobic bindings, respectively. For binding on mixed-ligand support, the adsorption constant was 0.45 liter g⁻¹. It was evident that both affinity and hydrophobic interactions are involved in the adsorption of proteins onto mixed-ligand particles. Desorption of the inactive proteins from the support was possible by increasing the hydrophobicity of the solution.     

Nitrogen adsorption on silica surfaces of nonporous and mesoporous materials

We present an accurate comparative analysis of N 2 adsorption at 77 K on nonporous silica and the pore wall surface of MCM-41 materials. The analysis shows that in the low-pressure region of N 2 adsorption obeys a peculiar mechanism governed by short-ranged forces, which makes the surface curvature effect on the N 2 adsorption in mesopores nearly negligible. We used this observation to define more exactly compared to the BET technique the specific surface area of the reference adsorption isotherm on nonporous silica basing on XRD data and linear sections of t-plots. Calculation of the capillary evaporation and condensation pressures seems to confirm our previous finding that the capillary condensation pressure corresponds to the equilibrium transition rather than spinodal condensation at least for pore sizes less than 7 nm. It allowed us to provide more reliable pore size distribution (PSD) analysis of mesoporous silica materials. For example, the PSDs of MCM-41 samples do not show artificial peaks in the micropore range that we obtained in our earlier publications.     

Synthesis of high surface area Al-containing mesoporous silica from calcined and acid leached kaolinites as the precursors

Al-containing mesoporous silicas were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of microporous silica prepared by selectively acid leached metakaolinites with Si/Al = 3.9-92.5 mixed with a surfactant of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr). The specific surface area of the products increased with higher surfactant/microporous silica (surf/Si) ratio and Si/Al ratio of the microporous silica, reaching about 1400 m2/g at CTABr/Si 0.1 and Si/Al 40. The XRD patterns of these products show a hexagonal (100) peak with the lattice parameter a0=4.2-4.3 nm and the N2 adsorption isotherms show steep increase of adsorption between relative pressure of 0.3 and 0.4. Hexagonal mesoporous microstructure is observed by high resolution TEM. The pore size distributions of the products show a sharp peak at 2.8 nm by the BJH method. The high specific surface area of the present mesoporous samples is attributed to the lower matrix density and surface roughness of mesopore wall. The highest specific surface area of the products reached up to 1420 m2/g and this value is apparently higher than those reported in hexagonal mesoporous silicas. A unique microporous structure of the starting material is thought to be related to achieve such a high specific surface area of the products.     

Dynamic surface tension and its diffusional decay of dodecyl ethoxylates with different homologue distribution

Dynamic surface tension and its diffusional decay have been studied with four different polydisperse C12E7 at different temperatures and different concentrations. The CMC and the headgroup area from equilibrium surface tension were shown with polydispersity and temperature. The chain length of oxyethylene on the surface was derived from comparison between the headgroup area of monodisperse dodecyl ethoxylates and that of polydisperse C12E7. The values for (Deff/D) were deduced with a diffusion-controlled adsorption model using parameters obtained from equilibrium surface tension. It was shown at short adsorption time that molecules were really adsorbed onto the surface in a diffusion-controlled manner. At a comparably long adsorption time, the ratios (Deff/D) were calculated by assuming the selective adsorption onto the surface. The modified Arrhenius-type equation was proposed by putting a concentration term in front of the exponential terms. The modified Arrhenius-type equation gave Ea=30 kJ/mole for this system. Ea directly derived without an Arrhenius plot was between 9 to 11 kJ/mole. It was an indication that the activation energy alone was not enough to explain the decay of dynamic surface tensions.     

功能化有序介孔二氧化硅材料在分析样品前处理中的应用

功能化有序介孔二氧化硅材料具有均一可调的介孔孔径、规则的孔道、稳定的骨架结构、易于修饰的内表面和较高的比表面积、高的吸附容量等特性,可用于生物、医药、环境样品等复杂基体中痕量分析物的高选择性分离与富集,因此在样品前处理中的应用特别引人瞩目。文中简要介绍了功能化有序介孔二氧化硅材料的制备方法,综述了功能化有序介孔二氧化硅材料在分离富集金属离子、有机污染物以及生物大分子样品前处理中的应用进展。     

Preparation and characterization of SiO2/TiO2 composite microspheres with microporous SiO2 core/mesoporous TiO2 shell

SiO₂/TiO₂ composite microspheres with microporous SiO₂ core/mesoporous TiO₂ shell structures were prepared by hydrolysis of titanium tetrabutylorthotitanate (TTBT) in the presence of microporous silica microspheres using hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) as a surface esterification agent and porous template, and then dried and calcined at different temperatures. The as-prepared products were characterized with differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric (DTA/TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption. The results showed that composite particles were about 1.8 μm in diameter, and had a spherical morphology and a narrow size distribution. Uniform mesoporous titania coatings on the surfaces of microporous silica microspheres could be obtained by adjusting the HPC concentration to an optimal concentration of about 3.2 mmol L⁻¹. The anatase and rutile phase in the SiO₂/TiO₂ composite microspheres began to form at 700 and 900 °C, respectively. At 700 °C, the specific surface area and pore volume of the SiO₂/TiO₂ composite microspheres were 552 and 0.652 mL g⁻¹, respectively. However, at 900 °C, the specific surface area and pore volume significantly decreased due to the phase transformation from anatase to rutile.     

Adsorption of 1,4-Benzenedithiol on Gold and Silver Surfaces: Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Study

The adsorption behavior of 1,4-benzenedithiol (1,4-BDT) on colloidal gold and silver surfaces has been investigated by means of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). 1,4-BDT chemisorbed dissociatively on both gold and silver surfaces but as mono- and dithiolate, respectively. Regardless of the bulk concentration of 1,4-BDT, only a monolayer was assembled on the silver surface with a flat orientation by forming two Ag–S bonds. On the gold surface, the monothiolate species,1,4-BDT⁻¹, appeared to assume a rather flat orientation at a very low surface coverage, but as the surface coverage was increased, the adsorbate took a perpendicular orientation. Furthermore, when the bulk concentration of 1,4-BDT was close to that required for a full-monolayer coverage limit, a band assignable to the S–S stretching vibration appeared at 536 cm⁻¹ in the gold sol SERS spectra. A separate ellipsometry measurement performed with vacuum-evaporated gold substrates revealed that up to tetralayers could be assembled on gold in 1 mM n-hexane solution of 1,4-BDT while at best a bilayer formed in either methanol or ethanol solution. The different adsorbate structure of 1,4-BDT on gold and silver was overall quite comparable to that of p-xylene-α,α′-dithiol.     

Adsorption Isotherms of Cetylpyridinium Chloride with Iron III Salts at Air/Water and Silica/Water Interfaces

The interaction of iron III salts and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) has been studied at the air/water and silica/water interfaces. The surface tension of cetylpyridinium chloride has been determined in aqueous solutions in the presence of iron III chloride and iron III nitrate at two constant pH values, namely, 3.5 and 1.2. It is shown that the surface tension of the cationic surfactant depends upon the ionic strength of the solution through the pH adjustment in the presence of the former salt but not in the presence of the latter. The effect of iron III nitrate on the surface tension of CPC is similar to that of potassium nitrate, indicating that the iron III various-hydrolyzed species do not interfere with the composition of the air/water interface. The competitive adsorption of iron III nitrate salt and the cationic surfactant at a silica/water interface was next investigated. The adsorption isotherms were determined at pH 3.5. It is shown that although the iron III ions, which were added to the silica dispersion in the presence of the cetylpyridinium ions, were strongly bound to the anionic surface sites, the surfactant ions are not salted out in the solution but remain in close vicinity of the silica surface. Conversely as the cationic surfactant is added first to the silica dispersion in the presence of the adsorbed iron III ions, the metal ions and the surfactant ions are both coadsorbed onto the silica surface. It is suggested that iron III hydrolyzed or free cations and the cationic surfactant molecules may not compete for the same adsorption sites onto the silica surface.     

Near-critical CO2 in mesoporous silica studied by in situ FTIR spectroscopy

Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to correlate the band shift of the nu2 vibrational band of carbon dioxide with the density of the fluid. Upon adsorption of CO2 on mesoporous silica and a nonporous SiO2 film, additional bands were detected due to interactions of CO2 with SiO2. Near the saturation pressure for the porous samples, the absorbance of the nu2 band increased strongly, which was concluded to be caused by liquidlike CO2 inside the pores. Integration of single-beam-sample-reference spectra between bulk CO2 and CO2 adsorbing on the mesoporous silica coated on one part of the internal reflection element revealed excess adsorption type isotherms with sharp maxima at 21 degrees C. A flatter curve shape could be observed at 25 degrees C, which allowed estimating the pore critical temperature. Moreover, the density of the fluid inside and outside the pores could be compared. Over the investigated ranges of pressure, temperature, and pore size, the results evidenced that the CO2 density was always higher in the silica pores than in the bulk, even under supercritical conditions. This has important consequences on the pressure dependence of dissolution power and diffusivity of fluids in mesoporous solids. An overview is given on the influences of fluid phase behavior in the bulk and in the pores at various conditions on solubility and diffusivity.     

Adsorption of DNA into mesoporous silica

In these experiments, double-stranded, linear DNA sequences were adsorbed into the pores of spherically shaped acid-prepared mesoporous silica (APMS). The lengths of the sequences were either 760 base pairs or 2000 base pairs. DNA adsorption into the interior of the mesoporous material was confirmed using confocal microscopy of sequences containing fluorescently labeled DNA molecules. Additional characterization with N(2) physisorption and powder X-ray diffraction supported this finding. The extent of adsorption was measured at various concentrations using UV-visible spectrophotometry to establish adsorption isotherms. APMS alone adsorbed a negligible amount of DNA; however, exchanging divalent cations such as Mg(2+) and Ca(2+) into the pores of APMS prior to DNA uptake was found to cause a significant amount of DNA to be adsorbed. Using Na(+) caused a lower amount of DNA to be adsorbed. DNA adsorption was also dependent on the pore diameter of APMS. Adsorption increased upon expansion of the pore size of the metal ion-exchanged material from 34 to 54 A; however, no additional uptake was measured by further increasing the pore size to 100 A. The amount of DNA adsorbed could also be significantly increased by using (aminopropyl)triethoxysilane to covalently link ammonium ions to the surface. Postsynthetic modification of the silica surface with aminopropyl groups increased the maximum DNA adsorption to 15.7 microg/mg silica, for materials with pore diameters of 100 A, which is 2 to 3 times more adsorbed DNA than for metal ion-exchanged material. This indicated that DNA binds more strongly in the presence of the ammonium group compared to the metal counterions. Finally, calculation and comparison of Freundlich and Langmuir constants for these adsorption processes indicate that intermolecular interactions between the DNA molecules within the pores are significant when the effective pore diameter is small, including materials with larger pores that were modified with organosilane.     

KIT-1介孔分子筛的化学修饰及吸附性能

介孔分子筛MCM-41具有较大、可调的孔径和较高的比表面积，其骨架组成具有较强的可调变性．为该材料的应用提供了很大的空间。但全硅MCM-41分子筛在潮湿空气中，即使在室温条件下也会发生水解反应，使其介孔结构遭到破坏。前人已针对MCM-41分子筛稳定性不足的问题相继合成了稳定性较高的介孔分子筛KIT-1,     

Silylating Agents Grafted onto Silica Derived from Leached Chrysotile

Silica from leached chrysotile fibers (SILO) was silanized with trialkoxyaminosilanes to yield inorganic–organic hybrids designated SILx (x=1–3). The greatest amounts of the immobilized agents were quantified as 2.14, 1.90, and 2.18 mmol g⁻¹ on SIL1, SIL2, and SIL3 for –(CH₂)₃NH₂,–(CH₂)₃NH(CH₂)₂NH₂, and –(CH₂)₃NH(CH₂)₂NH(CH₂)₂NH₂ groups attached to the inorganic support. The infrared spectra for all modified silicas showed the absence of the Si–OH deformation mode, originally found at 950 cm⁻¹, and the appearance of asymmetric and symmetric C–H stretching bands at 2950 and 2840 cm⁻¹. Other important bands associated with the organic moieties were assigned to ν_as(NH) at 3478 and ν_sym(NH) at 3418 cm⁻¹. The NMR spectrum of the solid precursor material suggested two different kinds of silicon atoms: silanol and siloxane groups, between −90 and 110 ppm; however, additional species of silicon that contain the organic moieties bonded to silicon at −58 and −66 ppm appeared after chemical modification. These modified silicas showed a high adsorption capacity for cobalt and copper cations in aqueous solution, in contrast to the original SILO matrix, confirming the unequivocal anchoring of silylating agents on the silica surface.     

Porous properties of silylated mesoporous silica and its hydrogen adsorption

Porous properties of mesoporous silica silylated with various organic silanes were examined and their hydrogen adsorption properties were measured at 77 K. By silylation of the mesoporous silica, the specific surface area, pore radius and pore volume steeply decreased depending on both the size of the silane and the amount actually incorporated into the mesoporous framework. The pores reduced in size depending on the amount of modifying silane and vanished completely in the samples silylated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and phenyltrichlorosilane. Hydrogen adsorption isotherms of the silylated samples were measured at 77 K. With the exception of the sample with phenyltrichlorosilane, hydrogen adsorption volumes were proportional to the surface area with a slope of around 1.1 molecules/nm². On the other hand, for the sample treated with phenyltrichlorosilane, a large hydrogen adsorption volume of around 38.1 molecules/nm² was obtained. On heating the silylated compounds at 500 °C, micropores formed and the hydrogen adsorption volume increased by 1.5 times or more due to the development of micropores.     

Drug delivery from hydrophobic-modified mesoporous silicas: Control via modification level and site-selective modification

Dimethylsilyl (DMS) modified mesoporous silicas were successfully prepared via co-condensation and post-grafting modification methods. The post-grafting modification was carried out by the reaction of the as-synthesized MCM-41 material (before CTAB removal) with diethoxydimethylsinale (DEDMS). N₂ adsorption-desorption and ²⁹Si MAS NMR characterization demonstrated that different amount of DMS groups were successfully incorporated into the co-condensation modified samples, and the functional DMS groups were placed selectively on the pore openings and external pore surfaces in the post-grafting modified samples. Subsequently, the controlled drug delivery properties from the resulting DMS-modified mesoporous silicas were investigated in detail. The drug adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption capacities were mainly depended on the content of silanol group (CSG) in the corresponding carriers. The in vitro tests exhibited that the incorporation of DMS groups greatly retarded the ibuprofen release rate. Moreover, the ibuprofen release profiles could be well modulated by varying DMS modification levels and site-selective distribution of functional groups in mesoporous carriers.