Preparation and characterization of diatomite/silica composite humidity control material by partial alkali dissolution

Abstract

The diatomite/silica composite humidity control material (DE/S) was prepared via partial alkali dissolution using diatomite (DE) as silicon source. The samples obtained were characterized for reaction mechanism and pore structure. The humidity control performances and reusability experimental of samples were analyzed. The results show that DE/S has better humidity control performance than DE under different relative humidity and temperature. DE/S shows good reusability. Humidity control performance of DE is significantly improved by composite material generated during the alkali dissolution as increasing of microporous and mesoporous, which form more reasonable pore size distribution and increase the structure heterogeneity.