Agnieszka Kierys; Jacek Goworek; Michal Rawski; Istvan Halasz
Abstract
Distinction between molecular constitutions of differently made silica gels succeeded only recently. This paper seeks relationship between the different molecular structures of acid and base set gels and their morphology and pore structure. Gels were fabricated from both tetraethyl orthosilicate, ...
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Distinction between molecular constitutions of differently made silica gels succeeded only recently. This paper seeks relationship between the different molecular structures of acid and base set gels and their morphology and pore structure. Gels were fabricated from both tetraethyl orthosilicate, TEOS, in organic solvent environment and from an economically more desirable, commercial, aqueous Na-silicate solution. When their gelling was performed in the pores of an organic resin, Amberlite, further molecular differences were observed, along with associated morphology and porosity differences. We present here unprecedented atomically resolved TEM pictures that visually prove that the molecular structures of gels deduced from their 29 Si NMR and Raman spectra are real, which could also be demonstrated by computer models.
