Porous structure pore silica distribution

The major design concept of polymer monoliths for separation media is the realization of the hierarchical porous structure of mesopores (2-50 nm in diameter) and macropores (larger than 50 nm in diameter). The mesopores provide retentive sites and macropores flow-through channels for effective mobile-phase transport and solute transfer between the mobile phase and the stationary phase. Preparation methods of such monolithic polymers with bimodal pore sizes were disclosed in a US patent (Frechet and Svec, 1994). The two modes of pore-size distribution were characterized with the smaller sized pores ranging less than 200 nm and the larger sized pores greater than 600 nm. In the case of silica monoliths, the concept of hierarchy of pore structures is more clearly realized in the preparation by sol-gel processes followed by mesopore formation (Minakuchi et al., 1996). 

To achieve a significant adsorptive capacity an adsorbent must have a high specific area, which implies a highly porous structure with very small micropores. Such microporous solids can be produced in several different ways. Adsorbents such as silica gel and activated alumina are made by precipitation of colloidal particles, followed by dehydration. Carbon adsorbents are prepared by controlled burn-out of carbonaceous materials such as coal, lignite, and coconut shells. The crystalline adsorbents (zeolite and zeolite analogues are different in that the dimensions of the micropores are determined by the crystal structure and there is therefore virtually no distribution of micropore size. Although structurally very different from the crystalline adsorbents, carbon molecular sieves also have a very narrow distribution of pore size. The adsorptive properties depend on the pore size and the pore size distribution as well as on the nature of the solid surface. 

The physical and chemical activation processes have been generally employed to prepare the porous carbons.18"35 However, the pore structures are not easily controlled by the activation processes and the size of the pores generated by the activation processes is limited to the micropore range only. Recently, much attention has been paid to the synthesis of meso/macroporous carbons with various pore structures and pore size distributions (PSD) by using various types of such inorganic templates as silica materials and zeolites.17,36 55... 

As the effect of surface hydration and hydroxylation has been characterized, the influence of the porous structure remains to be studied. Sterical hindrance of the modification process was suspected from the total coverage values. This is further evidenced by measuring the pore size distribution of the three silicas before and after modification, as displayed in figure 9.22. 

Several approaches towards the synthesis of hierarchical meso- and macro-porous materials have been described. For instance, a mixture that comprised a block co-polymer and polymer latex spheres was utilized to obtain large pore silicas with a bimodal pore size distribution [84]. Rather than pre-organizing latex spheres into an ordered structure they were instead mixed with block-copolymer precursor sols and the resulting structures were disordered. A similar approach that utilized a latex colloidal crystal template was used to assemble a macroporous crystal with amesoporous silica framework [67]. 

Our third applications example highlights the work of Nakano et al. in modeling structural correlations in porous silica. MD simulations of porous silica in the density range 2.2—0.1 g/cm were carried out on a 41,472-particle system using an iPSC/860. Internal surface area, ratio of pore surface to volume, pore size distribution, fractal dimension, correlation length, and mean particle size were determined as a function of the density, with the structural transition between a condensed amorphous phase and a low density porous phase characterized by these quantities. Various dissimilar porous structures with different fractal dimensions were obtained by controlling the preparation schedule and the temperature. 

Mesoporous silicas with various pore sizes are hydrophobic by silylation with silanes. Changes in the pore structure as a result of the silylation reactions are monitored in order to assess the distribution of the hydrophobic groups. Extensive polymerization of dimethyldi-chlorosilane causes blocking of the micropore fraction. For silica with pore sizes in the supermicroporous range (2nm), this leads to hydrophobization of almost exclusively the outer surface. While for trimethylchlorosilane a smaller number of molecules react with the surface, modification is more homogeneous and an open structure is optimally preserved. Both silanes lead to lower surface polarity and increased hydrothermal stability, i.e., preservation of the porous structure during exposure to water.12231... 

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