Synthesis of the mesostructured polymer-silica composite and silicon dioxide through polymer swelling in silica precursor

Abstract

Tetrabutoxysilane (TBOS) transition introduced into the preformed porous polymer was found as an effective method in the preparation of highly porous silica adsorbents. The swelling of the acrylic polymer XAD7HP in TBOS causes the total infiltration of polymer beads by the silica precursor. Transformation of TBOS in aqueous solution at presence of the surfactant (hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) produces two composite phases: silica-polymer beads and fine silica-CTAB particles. After their calcination, two pure silica phases exhibiting extremely high porosity were obtained. The paper presents the structural properties of the composites and silica materials. All materials were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), the low temperature nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and 29Si NMR spectroscopy.