Abstract
Mesopore formation in silica gels having continuous macropores has been investigated. The macroporous wet silica gel prepared by the sol-gel process including phase separation was aged in a basic solvent making use of hydrolysis of urea in a closed condition. The mesopore structure was finally obtained by subsequent evaporation drying of solvent and heat-treatment at 600°C for 2 h. The dissolution-reprecipitation kinetics at the interfaces between wet gel skeletons and an external solvent affected the size and volume of pores formed within the skeletons. Below 120°C, mesopores suitable for various chromatographic applications have been formed typically within 24 h. On the other hand, at 200°C, the pore size attained the macropore dimensions (>50 nm), and the whole macroporous morphology was significantly modified.
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