Silica composite shell

To better control the ordering of mesopores in the silica shell, along with particle size and shape, the hard template method in combination with surfactant templating has been studied intensively. Typically, hollow particles with hexagonally ordered mesoporous shells can be obtained by using PS beads and CTAB in an aqueous ammonia solution. After the growth of a silica-surfactant meso-structured composite shell on the surfeice, the PS template is finally removed by calcination to form hollow spheres. Several reports have succeeded in... 

In addition to tire standard model systems described above, more exotic particles have been prepared witli certain unusual properties, of which we will mention a few. For instance, using seeded growtli teclmiques, particles have been developed witli a silica shell which surrounds a core of a different composition, such as particles witli magnetic [12], fluorescent [13] or gold cores [14]. Anotlier example is tliat of spheres of polytetrafluoroetliylene (PTFE), which are optically anisotropic because tire core is crystalline [15]. 

The composition of the particles is related to that of the source rocks. Quartz sand [composed of silica (silicon dioxide)], which makes up the most common variety of silica sand, is derived from quartz rocks. Pure quartz is usually almost free of impurities and therefore almost colorless (white). The coloration of some silica sand is due to chemical impurities within the structure of the quartz. The common buff, brown, or gray, for example, is caused by small amounts of metallic oxides iron oxide makes the sand buff or brown, whereas manganese dioxide makes it gray. Other minerals that often also occur as sand are calcite, feldspar and obsidian Calcite (composed of calcium carbonate), is generally derived from weathered limestone or broken shells or coral feldspar is an igneous rock of complex composition, and obsidian is a natural glass derived from the lava erupting from volcanoes see Chapter 2. 

Various finishes can be achieved — gloss, satin (or egg-shell) or matt. This is accomplished by the addition of particles of size 1-5 pm of, for example, silica, china clay or the white pigment, TiCK The degree of mattness depends on various factors, such as particle size, surface treatment of the particles, rate of film formation, and the polymer composition, e.g., urethane/acrylate compared with epoxy/acrylate. The former requires smaller particles larger particles cannot be used as they create a rough surface. 

As an example of composite core/shell submicron particles, we made colloidal spheres with a polystyrene core and a silica shell. The polar vapors preferentially affect the silica shell of the composite nanospheres by sorbing into the mesoscale pores of the shell surface. This vapor sorption follows two mechanisms physical adsorption and capillary condensation of condensable vapors17. Similar vapor adsorption mechanisms have been observed in porous silicon20 and colloidal crystal films fabricated from silica submicron particles32, however, with lack of selectivity in vapor response. The nonpolar vapors preferentially affect the properties of the polystyrene core. Sorption of vapors of good solvents for a glassy polymer leads to the increase in polymer free volume and polymer plasticization32. 

Fig. 4.2 TEM images of fabricated nanoparticles, (a) Isolated composite core/shell submicron particles, (b) Hollow silica submicron particles prepared by removing the polystyrene core to demonstrate the high quality of the formed sol gel shell of the composite nanospheres employed to prepare sensing colloidal crystal films...

We have shown a new concept for selective chemical sensing based on composite core/shell polymer/silica colloidal crystal films. The vapor response selectivity is provided via the multivariate spectral analysis of the fundamental diffraction peak from the colloidal crystal film. Of course, as with any other analytical device, care should be taken not to irreversibly poison this sensor. For example, a prolonged exposure to high concentrations of nonpolar vapors will likely to irreversibly destroy the composite colloidal crystal film. Nevertheless, sensor materials based on the colloidal crystal films promise to have an improved long-term stability over the sensor materials based on organic colorimetric reagents incorporated into polymer films due to the elimination of photobleaching effects. In the experiments... 

As with the calcareous tests, BSi dissolution rates depend on (1) the susceptibility of a particular shell type to dissolution and (2) the degree to which a water mass is undersaturated with respect to opaline silica. Susceptibility to dissolution is related to chemical and physical factors. For example, various trace metals lower the solubility of BSi. (See Table 11.6 for the trace metal composition of siliceous shells.) From the physical perspective, denser shells sink fester. They also tend to have thicker walls and lower surface-area-to-volume ratios, all of which contribute to slower dissolution rates. As with calcivun carbonate, the degree of saturation of seawater with respect to BSi decreases with depth. The greater the thermodynamic driving force for dissolution, the fester the dissolution rate. As shown in Table 16.1, vertical and horizontal segregation of DSi does not significantly coimter the effect of pressure in increasing the saturation concentration DSi. Thus, unlike calcite, there is no deep water that is more thermodynamically favorable for BSi preservation they are all corrosive to BSi. 

Suspension arrays are based on addressable nano- or micrometric beads of various chemical natures (polymeric, silica, gold) and architectures (uniform composition, core-shell particles) to which NAs can be immobilized by means of activating chemistries similar to those described for fiat supports [64,65] depending on the composition of the particles outmost layer. 

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