Chemical modification/ambient drying method and freeze drying method were introduced to research the synthesis of mesoporous silica aerogels. By analyzing N2 gas adsorption/desorption isotherms, the fractal geometric ...Chemical modification/ambient drying method and freeze drying method were introduced to research the synthesis of mesoporous silica aerogels. By analyzing N2 gas adsorption/desorption isotherms, the fractal geometric characteristics of gels were focused. The overall surface fractal dimensions were determined by analyzing N2 gas adsorption branch and a Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) equation was empolyed to determine surface fractal dimension Df It is found that, during ambient drying process, VTMCS/VWetgel ratio plays a crucial role in the changes of geometric feature, the key point is 50%, when the ratio is lower, and surface roughness increases with the ratio, when it exceeds 50%, the surface is almost unaffected by the modification. While freeze drying always tends to get larger Df freeze drying process could cause a rough surface of the gels. Compared with traditional porosity and specific surface area analyses, fractal geometry may be expected to be favorable for mesoporous structural analyses of materials.展开更多
The synthesis procedures and physical properties of the ambient dried hydrophobic silica aerogels by using different contents of ethanol (EtOH)/trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS)/n-Hexane as surface modification agent w...The synthesis procedures and physical properties of the ambient dried hydrophobic silica aerogels by using different contents of ethanol (EtOH)/trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS)/n-Hexane as surface modification agent were investigated. One-step solvent exchange and surface modification were simultaneously progressed by immersing silica hydrogels in EtOH/TMCS/n-Hexane solution. It is found that microstructures as well as properties of silica aerogels like porosity, specific density and specific surface area are affected by the contents of surface modification agent in the sol from the results of SEM, TEM morphology, FT-IR chemical structure, BET surface area and BJH pore size analyses. The volume of TMCS is of 10% and 20% of hydrogels, and the final product is hydrophilic xerogels. When TMCS's percent (v/v) is elevated to 75 %-100%, hydrophobic silica aerogels with good performance are synthesized, the porosities of aerogels are in the range of 93.5%-95.8% and the average pore size diameter is less than 20 nm.展开更多
Silica aerogel materials are well recognized for their superinsulation performance and are regarded as one of the hot candidates to revolutionize building insulation. To date, high production cost related to exorbitan...Silica aerogel materials are well recognized for their superinsulation performance and are regarded as one of the hot candidates to revolutionize building insulation. To date, high production cost related to exorbitant precursors as well as cumbrous multi-step hydrophobization process has often narrowed the field of applications. In this work, granular silica aerogel materials were synthesized by extracting Si O2 from recycled rich silicon coal gangue, followed by one-step hydrophobization and ambient pressure drying. Lightweight(about 0.16 g/cm3) and nanostructural aerogels were obtained through this route. They exhibit a 3D open porous microstructure with around 600 cm2/g surface area and 20 nm of the average pore diameter, thermal conductivity of 4-5 mm packed granules is 20-25 m W/(m·K), which was proved by both guarded hot plate and hot-wire transient methods. This study offers a new facile route for the synthesis of silica aerogel from recycled solid waste coal gangue and suggests a method, which may lead to a cost reduction in terms of industrial production.展开更多
Using powder-sintering method,SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-ZnO-R2O porous glass-ceramics were produced for analysis. Five samples with different SiO2 /CaO ratios were used in the research. The mechanical properties, microstructures...Using powder-sintering method,SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-ZnO-R2O porous glass-ceramics were produced for analysis. Five samples with different SiO2 /CaO ratios were used in the research. The mechanical properties, microstructures and textures of porous glass-ceramics are investigated by using differential thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis ( TGA/SDTA) ,X-ray diffraction ( XRD) ,and scanning electron microsco- py ( SEM) . The activity energy of crystallization ( E) and crystallization kinetics parameter ( k) were calculated based on the modified JMA equation. The Avrami parameter n was obtained according to Augis-Bennett function. The results show that the k value of No. 1 sample ( SiO2 /CaO = 61∶ 18) is the largest among all samples, which tends to crystallize more easily,and crystallization processes of all samples are observed bulk crystallization. The main crystal phase observed is parawollastonite ( clinorhombic system) with puncheon shape. Poreforming agents decomposed at 100 - 500 ℃ form a large number of closed pores with micron dimension and several semi-open pores distribute uniformly in the glass-ceramics matrix. This work may be expected to be favorable for industrial scale applications of porous glass-ceramics in the field of building thermal insulation.展开更多
Based on Fuller's model, a gradation design is presented for the load-carrying capacity of an asphalt mixture with stone-to-stone contact. The coarse aggregate gradation, fine aggregate and filler gradation are respe...Based on Fuller's model, a gradation design is presented for the load-carrying capacity of an asphalt mixture with stone-to-stone contact. The coarse aggregate gradation, fine aggregate and filler gradation are respectively designed for their different effects on an asphalt mixture with stone-to-stone contact. The equation of coarse aggregate gradation is deduced from the Fuller's model. Fine aggregate gradation is calculated by using Fuller's equation. The asphalt mixture with the 16 mm maximum size of aggregate is verified. When the coefficient of coarse aggregate gradation is 0.35 and fine aggregate gradation is 0.25, the volume parameters of asphalt mixture meet the technical specifications. Moreover, the high temperature stability and crack resistance at low temperature are all well.展开更多
An ambient pressure synthesis of SiO2/TiO2 binary aerogel was prepared through the low-cost precursors of titanium tetrachloride(TiCl4) and sodium silicate(Na2O·nSiO2).After gelation,solvent exchange and surf...An ambient pressure synthesis of SiO2/TiO2 binary aerogel was prepared through the low-cost precursors of titanium tetrachloride(TiCl4) and sodium silicate(Na2O·nSiO2).After gelation,solvent exchange and surface modification were performed simultaneously and the modified gel was finally dried under ambient pressure.Microstructural analyses by transmission electron microscope(TEM) indicate that fabricated SiO2/TiO2 aerogel composite shows similar sponge-like nanostructure as silica aerogel,and the Brunauer-EmmettTeller(BET) analysis shows that the specific surface area of the composite reaches 605 m^2/g,and the average pore size is 9.7 nm.Such binary aerogel exhibits significant photocatalytic performance in this paper for treating model pollutant of methyl orange(MO),and the decolorizing efficiency of MO is detected as 84.9%after 210 mins exposure to UV light irradiation.Degraded gel suspends in the water so as to separate from solution for reuse,and after 4 times recycling,70%degradation efficiency can be easily reached when composite catalyzed system is exposed for 210 mins under UV irradiation.展开更多
The effect of drying techniques on the microstructure,morphology and pore structure of porous silica gels was studied in the paper.The gels were prepared by using sol-gel process and different drying routes:freeze-dry...The effect of drying techniques on the microstructure,morphology and pore structure of porous silica gels was studied in the paper.The gels were prepared by using sol-gel process and different drying routes:freeze-drying (FD),low pressure drying (LPD),high temperature drying (HTD) and chemical modification & ambient drying (CMD) techniques.Observation under pore distribution and structural properties showed that CMD technique leads to homogenous mesoporous silica material with specific surface area of 745 m2/g,and the average pore size around 20 nm,while LPD and HTD result in loosely packed particles with non-isotropic aggregation pattern.The specific surface areas of LPD and HTD samples are 419 and 513 m2/g respectively,and the pore size distribution of the samples are observed distributing widely in range of 10-100 nm.Freeze drying method is a new but prospective way to prepare mesoporous silica.The specific area of FD sample is around 500 m2/g.By the comparison for the properties of the gels,this paper wants to induce a further interest in finding a proper method to synthesize the porous silica gels for low price use.展开更多
Silica( SiO_2) based aerogel/xerogel materials have been received ever-growing attentions for versatile applications. However,the widespread applications are narrowed by the inert properties,fragile and brittle nature...Silica( SiO_2) based aerogel/xerogel materials have been received ever-growing attentions for versatile applications. However,the widespread applications are narrowed by the inert properties,fragile and brittle natureof silica materials and cumbersome preparation processes. In this paper,titania( TiO_2) was introduced into SiO_2 matrix to form photocatalytic hybrid gels. The TiO_2/SiO_2 composites were then reinforced by the impregnation of various fibrillary reinforcements,such as glass,mullite mineral and ceramic fibers. The properties of the composites were studied systematically in terms of fiberstability,microstructure,chemical interaction and thermal conductivity. The final xerogel composites displayed improved monolithic geometry,satisfied thermal conductivity(0. 09-0. 25 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)) and optimized photocatalytic performance(85% removal of model pollutant of methyl orange( Mo)),which could be expected to be a feasible route to multi-functional building facades in the future.展开更多
A facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal route has been developed for a synthesis of versatile carbon materials. The monosaccharide fructose aqueous solution was adopted as the starting material, and the p H of the so...A facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal route has been developed for a synthesis of versatile carbon materials. The monosaccharide fructose aqueous solution was adopted as the starting material, and the p H of the solution was adjusted to be in acidic(pH 4), neutral(pH 7) and basic(pH 10.5) conditions. The p H buffered fructose solutions were treated at different temperatures by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal technique. As-prepared carbon materials displayed p H and temperature dependent multi-morphologies(porous, spherical or core-shell), which were determined by transmission and scanning electron microscopic analyses(TEM and SEM). And the hypothesis of dehydration mechanism of hydrothermal synthesis was analyzed by ultraviolet extinction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that as compared with normal hydrothermal synthesis, microwave assistance could efficiently increase the production yield and improve the spherical geometry of the carbon particles in neutral condition. By changing the p H of the system, acidic p H induces aggregation of the spheres, while basic p H produces more trends toward core-shell or sponge-like porous structure. The study opens a novel route to the production of polytropic carbon materials and suggests a potential niche market established from the green synthesis.展开更多
基金Funded by the National Mega-Project of Scientific&Technical Supporting Programs,Ministry of Science&Technology of China(No.2006BAJ04A04)Science Foundation of Liaoning Province,China(No.2008S190)
文摘Chemical modification/ambient drying method and freeze drying method were introduced to research the synthesis of mesoporous silica aerogels. By analyzing N2 gas adsorption/desorption isotherms, the fractal geometric characteristics of gels were focused. The overall surface fractal dimensions were determined by analyzing N2 gas adsorption branch and a Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) equation was empolyed to determine surface fractal dimension Df It is found that, during ambient drying process, VTMCS/VWetgel ratio plays a crucial role in the changes of geometric feature, the key point is 50%, when the ratio is lower, and surface roughness increases with the ratio, when it exceeds 50%, the surface is almost unaffected by the modification. While freeze drying always tends to get larger Df freeze drying process could cause a rough surface of the gels. Compared with traditional porosity and specific surface area analyses, fractal geometry may be expected to be favorable for mesoporous structural analyses of materials.
基金Funded by the National Mega-Project of Scientific & Technical Sup-porting Programs, Ministry of Science & Technology of China(No.2006BAJ04A 04)the Science Foundation of Liaoning Province,China (No.20062147)
文摘The synthesis procedures and physical properties of the ambient dried hydrophobic silica aerogels by using different contents of ethanol (EtOH)/trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS)/n-Hexane as surface modification agent were investigated. One-step solvent exchange and surface modification were simultaneously progressed by immersing silica hydrogels in EtOH/TMCS/n-Hexane solution. It is found that microstructures as well as properties of silica aerogels like porosity, specific density and specific surface area are affected by the contents of surface modification agent in the sol from the results of SEM, TEM morphology, FT-IR chemical structure, BET surface area and BJH pore size analyses. The volume of TMCS is of 10% and 20% of hydrogels, and the final product is hydrophilic xerogels. When TMCS's percent (v/v) is elevated to 75 %-100%, hydrophobic silica aerogels with good performance are synthesized, the porosities of aerogels are in the range of 93.5%-95.8% and the average pore size diameter is less than 20 nm.
基金Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51308079,51408073 and 51278073)
文摘Silica aerogel materials are well recognized for their superinsulation performance and are regarded as one of the hot candidates to revolutionize building insulation. To date, high production cost related to exorbitant precursors as well as cumbrous multi-step hydrophobization process has often narrowed the field of applications. In this work, granular silica aerogel materials were synthesized by extracting Si O2 from recycled rich silicon coal gangue, followed by one-step hydrophobization and ambient pressure drying. Lightweight(about 0.16 g/cm3) and nanostructural aerogels were obtained through this route. They exhibit a 3D open porous microstructure with around 600 cm2/g surface area and 20 nm of the average pore diameter, thermal conductivity of 4-5 mm packed granules is 20-25 m W/(m·K), which was proved by both guarded hot plate and hot-wire transient methods. This study offers a new facile route for the synthesis of silica aerogel from recycled solid waste coal gangue and suggests a method, which may lead to a cost reduction in terms of industrial production.
基金Sponsored by the Ministry of Science & Technology of China During the 11th Five-year Plan (Grant No. 2006BAJ05B07)
文摘Using powder-sintering method,SiO2-Al2O3-CaO-ZnO-R2O porous glass-ceramics were produced for analysis. Five samples with different SiO2 /CaO ratios were used in the research. The mechanical properties, microstructures and textures of porous glass-ceramics are investigated by using differential thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis ( TGA/SDTA) ,X-ray diffraction ( XRD) ,and scanning electron microsco- py ( SEM) . The activity energy of crystallization ( E) and crystallization kinetics parameter ( k) were calculated based on the modified JMA equation. The Avrami parameter n was obtained according to Augis-Bennett function. The results show that the k value of No. 1 sample ( SiO2 /CaO = 61∶ 18) is the largest among all samples, which tends to crystallize more easily,and crystallization processes of all samples are observed bulk crystallization. The main crystal phase observed is parawollastonite ( clinorhombic system) with puncheon shape. Poreforming agents decomposed at 100 - 500 ℃ form a large number of closed pores with micron dimension and several semi-open pores distribute uniformly in the glass-ceramics matrix. This work may be expected to be favorable for industrial scale applications of porous glass-ceramics in the field of building thermal insulation.
基金Project supported by the National Mega-Project of Scientific and Technical Programs of Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No.2006BAJ05B07)
文摘Based on Fuller's model, a gradation design is presented for the load-carrying capacity of an asphalt mixture with stone-to-stone contact. The coarse aggregate gradation, fine aggregate and filler gradation are respectively designed for their different effects on an asphalt mixture with stone-to-stone contact. The equation of coarse aggregate gradation is deduced from the Fuller's model. Fine aggregate gradation is calculated by using Fuller's equation. The asphalt mixture with the 16 mm maximum size of aggregate is verified. When the coefficient of coarse aggregate gradation is 0.35 and fine aggregate gradation is 0.25, the volume parameters of asphalt mixture meet the technical specifications. Moreover, the high temperature stability and crack resistance at low temperature are all well.
基金Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Nos.51278073,51308079 and 51408073)
文摘An ambient pressure synthesis of SiO2/TiO2 binary aerogel was prepared through the low-cost precursors of titanium tetrachloride(TiCl4) and sodium silicate(Na2O·nSiO2).After gelation,solvent exchange and surface modification were performed simultaneously and the modified gel was finally dried under ambient pressure.Microstructural analyses by transmission electron microscope(TEM) indicate that fabricated SiO2/TiO2 aerogel composite shows similar sponge-like nanostructure as silica aerogel,and the Brunauer-EmmettTeller(BET) analysis shows that the specific surface area of the composite reaches 605 m^2/g,and the average pore size is 9.7 nm.Such binary aerogel exhibits significant photocatalytic performance in this paper for treating model pollutant of methyl orange(MO),and the decolorizing efficiency of MO is detected as 84.9%after 210 mins exposure to UV light irradiation.Degraded gel suspends in the water so as to separate from solution for reuse,and after 4 times recycling,70%degradation efficiency can be easily reached when composite catalyzed system is exposed for 210 mins under UV irradiation.
基金Sponsored by the National Mega-Project of Scientific & Technical Supporting Programs,Ministry of Science &Technology of China (Grant No.2006BAJ04A04)the Science Foundation of Liaoning Province,China (Grant No. 2008S190)
文摘The effect of drying techniques on the microstructure,morphology and pore structure of porous silica gels was studied in the paper.The gels were prepared by using sol-gel process and different drying routes:freeze-drying (FD),low pressure drying (LPD),high temperature drying (HTD) and chemical modification & ambient drying (CMD) techniques.Observation under pore distribution and structural properties showed that CMD technique leads to homogenous mesoporous silica material with specific surface area of 745 m2/g,and the average pore size around 20 nm,while LPD and HTD result in loosely packed particles with non-isotropic aggregation pattern.The specific surface areas of LPD and HTD samples are 419 and 513 m2/g respectively,and the pore size distribution of the samples are observed distributing widely in range of 10-100 nm.Freeze drying method is a new but prospective way to prepare mesoporous silica.The specific area of FD sample is around 500 m2/g.By the comparison for the properties of the gels,this paper wants to induce a further interest in finding a proper method to synthesize the porous silica gels for low price use.
基金National Natural Science Foundations of China(Nos.51308079,51408073,51678080,51678081)
文摘Silica( SiO_2) based aerogel/xerogel materials have been received ever-growing attentions for versatile applications. However,the widespread applications are narrowed by the inert properties,fragile and brittle natureof silica materials and cumbersome preparation processes. In this paper,titania( TiO_2) was introduced into SiO_2 matrix to form photocatalytic hybrid gels. The TiO_2/SiO_2 composites were then reinforced by the impregnation of various fibrillary reinforcements,such as glass,mullite mineral and ceramic fibers. The properties of the composites were studied systematically in terms of fiberstability,microstructure,chemical interaction and thermal conductivity. The final xerogel composites displayed improved monolithic geometry,satisfied thermal conductivity(0. 09-0. 25 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)) and optimized photocatalytic performance(85% removal of model pollutant of methyl orange( Mo)),which could be expected to be a feasible route to multi-functional building facades in the future.
基金Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Nos.51408073,51678080 and 51678081)
文摘A facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal route has been developed for a synthesis of versatile carbon materials. The monosaccharide fructose aqueous solution was adopted as the starting material, and the p H of the solution was adjusted to be in acidic(pH 4), neutral(pH 7) and basic(pH 10.5) conditions. The p H buffered fructose solutions were treated at different temperatures by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal technique. As-prepared carbon materials displayed p H and temperature dependent multi-morphologies(porous, spherical or core-shell), which were determined by transmission and scanning electron microscopic analyses(TEM and SEM). And the hypothesis of dehydration mechanism of hydrothermal synthesis was analyzed by ultraviolet extinction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that as compared with normal hydrothermal synthesis, microwave assistance could efficiently increase the production yield and improve the spherical geometry of the carbon particles in neutral condition. By changing the p H of the system, acidic p H induces aggregation of the spheres, while basic p H produces more trends toward core-shell or sponge-like porous structure. The study opens a novel route to the production of polytropic carbon materials and suggests a potential niche market established from the green synthesis.