Mesostructure of Mesoporous Silica/Anodic Alumina Hierarchical Membranes Tuned with Ethanol

Abstract

Hierarchically structured membranes composed of mesoporous silica embedded inside the channels of anodic alumina (MS-AAM) were synthesized using the aspiration method. Ethanol is shown to have a significant effect on the type and organization of the mesoporous silica phase. Detailed textural analysis revealed that the pore size distribution of the mesoporous silica narrows and the degree of ordering increases with decreasing ethanol concentration used in the synthesis mixture. The silica mesopores were synthesized with pores as small as 6 nm in diameter, with the channel direction oriented in lamellar, circular, and columnar directions depending on the ethanol content. This study reveals ethanol concentration as a key factor behind the synthesis of an ordered mesoporous silica-anodic alumina membrane that can increase its functionality for membrane-based applications.

The effects of cobalt and cerium promoters on hydrogen production performance of alumina‐supported nickel catalysts in propane steam reforming

“…The prepared catalysts possess narrow and monomodal PSDs in the mesoporous range, with an average diameter of ~2.5 nm. According to IUPAC classification, the samples Co 0.0%–Ce 0.0%, Co 0.0%–Ce 5.0%, Co 2.75%–Ce 0.0% and Co 2.75%–Ce 10.0% may be classified as solids with well‐defined H 2 hysteresis loops and uniform mesoporous structures 28 . The textural properties of the catalysts are shown in Table 3.…”

“…According to IUPAC classification, the samples Co 0.0%-Ce 0.0%, Co 0.0%-Ce 5.0%, Co 2.75%-Ce 0.0% and Co 2.75%-Ce 10.0% may be classified as solids with well-defined H 2 hysteresis loops and uniform mesoporous structures. 28 The textural properties of the catalysts are shown in Table 3. All the selected freshly calcined catalysts have surface areas of >130 m 2 g −1 , which favorable to enhancing active phase dispersion and suppressing active sites sintering.…”

Water Dynamics in Competitive Solvation Assisted Loading of Colloidal Curcumin Nanoparticles onto Mesoporous Silica Nanostructures

“…However, the interaction phenomenon between these nanomaterials and mesoporous nanostructures [9][10][11] is complex and unique tailoring methodologies [12][13][14] are necessary to obtain hierarchical, self-assembled nanostructures for specific applications. [15][16][17][18][19] The major issues encountered in obtaining biologically active complexes of nanomaterials and mesoporous silica are all related to the effect of the physical and chemical constraints on the properties of the nanomaterials, [20] particularly at high loading fraction. The possibility to simultaneously synthesize and load nanomaterials onto mesoporous silica is therefore one attractive alternative to obtain functional complexes.…”

Revealing the truncated conical geometry of nanochannels in anodic aluminium oxide membranes

“…Self-ordered anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membranes grown under a self-ordering growth regime have become promising candidates for versatile applications in structural coloration, 1 photonic crystals, 2 upconversion luminescence, 3 nanofluidic transport, 4 separators in Li-S batteries, 5 membrane separation, 6 virus detection and ultrafiltration, 7,8 biosensors, 9,10 and drug release, 11 and AAO membranes are becoming a key component in the construction of functional nanostructures (e.g., nanowires, [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] nanotubes, [24][25][26][27] nanoparticles, [28][29][30][31] nanorods, [32][33][34][35] nanopillars, 36,37 heterostructures 38,39 and mesostructures 40,41 ) that are driving advances in fields as diverse as optics, [1][2][3]27,42 magnetics, 13,<...…”

“…Self-ordered anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membranes grown under a self-ordering growth regime have become promising candidates for versatile applications in structural coloration, 1 photonic crystals, 2 upconversion luminescence, 3 nanofluidic transport, 4 separators in Li–S batteries, 5 membrane separation, 6 virus detection and ultrafiltration, 7,8 biosensors, 9,10 and drug release, 11 and AAO membranes are becoming a key component in the construction of functional nanostructures ( e.g. , nanowires, 12–23 nanotubes, 24–27 nanoparticles, 28–31 nanorods, 32–35 nanopillars, 36,37 heterostructures 38,39 and mesostructures 40,41 ) that are driving advances in fields as diverse as optics, 1–3,27,42 magnetics, 13,14 thermoelectrics, 15 biology, 17 medicine, 27 sensing, 32,35 and energy conversion and storage 18,19,25,29,37 due to their controllable nanochannel dimensions. The nanochannel geometry is essential to the functional applications of AAO membranes, which has been demonstrated in the following three aspects.…”