TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of secondary metal carbonate addition on the porous character of resorcinol-formaldehyde xerogels
AU - Taylor, Stewart J.
AU - Haw, Mark D.
AU - Sefcik, Jan
AU - Fletcher, Ashleigh J.
PY - 2015/12/22
Y1 - 2015/12/22
N2 - A deeper understanding of the chemistry and physics of growth, aggregation and gelation processes involved in the formation of xerogels is key to providing greater control of the porous characteristics of such materials, increasing the range of applications for which they may be utilised. Time-resolved dynamic light scattering has been used to study the formation of resorcinol-formaldehyde gels in the presence of combinations of Group I (Na and Cs) and Group II (Ca and Ba) metal carbonates. It was found that the combined catalyst composition, including species and times of addition, is crucial in determining the end properties of the xerogels, via its effect on growth of clusters involved in formation of the gel network. Combination materials have textural characteristics within the full gamut offered by each catalyst alone; however, in addition, combination materials which retain the small pores associated with sodium carbonate catalysed xerogels exhibit a narrowing of the pore size distribution, providing an increased pore volume within an application-specific range of pore sizes. We also show evidence of pore size tunability while maintaining ionic strength, which significantly increases the potential of such systems for biological applications.
AB - A deeper understanding of the chemistry and physics of growth, aggregation and gelation processes involved in the formation of xerogels is key to providing greater control of the porous characteristics of such materials, increasing the range of applications for which they may be utilised. Time-resolved dynamic light scattering has been used to study the formation of resorcinol-formaldehyde gels in the presence of combinations of Group I (Na and Cs) and Group II (Ca and Ba) metal carbonates. It was found that the combined catalyst composition, including species and times of addition, is crucial in determining the end properties of the xerogels, via its effect on growth of clusters involved in formation of the gel network. Combination materials have textural characteristics within the full gamut offered by each catalyst alone; however, in addition, combination materials which retain the small pores associated with sodium carbonate catalysed xerogels exhibit a narrowing of the pore size distribution, providing an increased pore volume within an application-specific range of pore sizes. We also show evidence of pore size tunability while maintaining ionic strength, which significantly increases the potential of such systems for biological applications.
KW - resorcinol-formaldehyde gels
KW - dynamic light scattering
KW - gel formation
KW - gelation
KW - xerogels
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84951932447&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02483
DO - 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02483
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84951932447
SN - 0743-7463
VL - 31
SP - 13571
EP - 13580
JO - Langmuir
JF - Langmuir
IS - 50
ER -