Direct intercalation of metal oxide sols

The direct intercalation of metal oxide sols (DIMOS) according to Pinnavaia is a good technique to achieve stable oxide pillars [31]. Aqueous oxide sols with uniform particle sizes of 20-80 A can be used to create mesoporous pillared clays. The materials are also called supergallery PILCs, a term covering all substrates with an interlayer distance substantially larger than the thickness of the host layers. Ti-sol prepared from Ti-alkoxides results in Ti-PILCs with interlayer free spacings of 13 A and surface areas of 300 m /g. 

The intercalation of imogolite monolayers in smectite cogently demonstrates the concept of forming regular, supergallery pillared products by direct intercalation on metal oxide sol particles of regular size and shape. 

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