Synthesis and Textural Characterization of Mesoporous and Meso-/Macroporous Silica Monoliths Obtained by Spinodal Decomposition
Anne Galarneau,
Zakaria Abid,
Bilel Said,
Youcef Didi,
Katarzyna Szymanska,
Andrzej Jarzębski,
Franck Tancret,
Hadj Hamaizi,
Abdelkader Bengueddach,
Francesco Di Renzo,
Francois Fajula
Affiliations
Anne Galarneau
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS-Université de Montpellier-ENSCM, ENSCM, 8 rue de l’Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
Zakaria Abid
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS-Université de Montpellier-ENSCM, ENSCM, 8 rue de l’Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
Bilel Said
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS-Université de Montpellier-ENSCM, ENSCM, 8 rue de l’Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
Youcef Didi
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS-Université de Montpellier-ENSCM, ENSCM, 8 rue de l’Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
Katarzyna Szymanska
Department of Chemical Engineering and Process Design, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Ks. M. Strzody 7, Poland
Andrzej Jarzębski
Department of Chemical Engineering and Process Design, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Ks. M. Strzody 7, Poland
Franck Tancret
Université de Nantes, Institut des Matériaux de Nantes-Jean Rouxel (IMN), Polytech Nantes, Rue Christian Pauc, BP 50609, 44306 Nantes Cedex 3, France
Hadj Hamaizi
Laboratoire de Chimie des Matériaux, Faculté des Sciences Appliquées et Exactes, University of Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella, BP 1524 Oran, Algeria
Abdelkader Bengueddach
Laboratoire de Chimie des Matériaux, Faculté des Sciences Appliquées et Exactes, University of Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella, BP 1524 Oran, Algeria
Francesco Di Renzo
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS-Université de Montpellier-ENSCM, ENSCM, 8 rue de l’Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
Francois Fajula
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS-Université de Montpellier-ENSCM, ENSCM, 8 rue de l’Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
Silica monoliths featuring either mesopores or flow-through macropores and mesopores in their skeleton are prepared by combining spinodal phase separation and sol-gel condensation. The macroporous network is first generated by phase separation in acidic medium in the presence of polyethyleneoxides while mesoporosity is engineered in a second step in alkaline medium, possibly in the presence of alkylammonium cations as surfactants. The mesoporous monoliths, also referred as aerogels, are obtained in the presence of alkylpolyethylene oxides in acidic medium without the use of supercritical drying. The impact of the experimental conditions on pore architecture of the monoliths regarding the shape, the ordering, the size and the connectivity of the mesopores is comprehensively discussed based on a critical appraisal of the different models used for textural analysis.
