Abstract
We successfully synthesized two different structures, silica nanospheres and porous polymer membranes, via nanophase separation, based on a sol–gel process. Silica sol, which was in situ polymerized from tetraorthosilicate, was used as a precursor. Subsequently, it was mixed with a polymer that was used as a matrix component. It was observed that nanophase separation occurred after the mixing of polymer with silica sol and subsequent evaporation of solvents, resulting in organizing various structures, from random network silica structures to silica spheres. In particular, silica nanospheres were produced by manipulating the mixing ratio of polymer to silica sol. The size of silica beads was gradually changed from micro- to nanoscale, depending on the polymer content. At the same time, porous polymer membranes were generated by removing the silica component with hydrofluoric acid. Furthermore, porous carbon membranes were produced using carbon source polymer through the carbonization process.
Highlights
Considerable efforts have been devoted to the design and fabrication of controlled organic/inorganic composites with novel properties, including optical, electrical, chemical, biological, and mechanical properties [1-4]
Silica sol dispersed in the polymer solution formed the certain morphologies via phase separation, due to the incompatibility between silica and polymer, upon drying
Porous carbon membranes were prepared by a carbonization process (850°C for 3 h in an argon contents of the silica components were higher than those of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), minor PMMA was dispersed in the major silica matrix (Figure 2a)
Summary
Considerable efforts have been devoted to the design and fabrication of controlled organic/inorganic composites with novel properties, including optical, electrical, chemical, biological, and mechanical properties [1-4]. In these hybrid systems, phase separation occurs naturally because they are composed of two materials with totally different chemical characteristics [5-7]. When domain formation is induced by phase transition, the compatibility and interaction between organic and inorganic components are key factors to determine the uniformity and nanostructures of the final objects [8-10] These factors contributed to the size of the nanostructured inorganic materials, and to their morphologies, which can have an effect on the ultimate properties. Kim et al, reported the porous carbon membranes fabricated by self-assembly [33,34]
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