Hybrid Xerogel Structure and Molecular Guest Dynamics

A new experimental approach to study the porosity of hybrid organic-inorganic glasses is reported. It relies upon nuclear magnetic resonance observation of molecular guest dynamics. It is shown that in MTEOS xerogels, there exists an interconnected organic-rich network in which organic guests are trapped and can eventually diffuse. The interpore translational diffusion is strongly activated and its spatial extension gives information on the pore connectivity, whose decay is characterized by the interpore jump probability given by the theoretical model.