Modulation of microporous/mesoporous structures in self-templated cobalt-silica.

Finite control of pore size distributions is a highly desired attribute when producing porous materials. While many methodologies strive to produce such materials through one-pot strategies, oftentimes the pore structure requires post-treatment modification. In this study, modulation of pore size in cobalt-silica systems was investigated by a novel, non-destructive, self-templated method. These systems were produced from two cobalt-containing silica starting materials which differed by extent of condensation. These starting materials, sol (SG') and xerogel (XG'), were mixed with pure silica sol to produce materials containing 5-40 mol% Co. The resultant SG-series materials exhibited typical attributes for cobalt-silica systems: mesoporous characteristics developed at high cobalt concentrations, coinciding with Co3O4 formation; whereas, in the XG-series materials, these mesoporous characteristics were extensively suppressed. Based on an examination of the resultant materials a mechanism describing the pore size formation and modulation of the two systems was proposed. Pore size modulation in the XG-series was caused, in part, by the cobalt source acting as an autogenous template for the condensation of the silica network. These domains could be modified when wetted, allowing for the infiltration and subsequent condensation of silica oligomers into the pre-formed, mesoporous cages, leading to a reduction in the mesoporous content of the final product.

Tailoring the oxidation state of cobalt through halide functionality in sol-gel silica.

The functionality or oxidation state of cobalt within a silica matrix can be tailored through the use of cationic surfactants and their halide counter ions during the sol-gel synthesis. Simply by adding surfactant we could significantly increase the amount of cobalt existing as Co3O4 within the silica from 44% to 77%, without varying the cobalt precursor concentration. However, once the surfactant to cobalt ratio exceeded 1, further addition resulted in an inhibitory mechanism whereby the altered pyrolysis of the surfactant decreased Co3O4 production. These findings have significant implications for the production of cobalt/silica composites where maximizing the functional Co3O4 phase remains the goal for a broad range of catalytic, sensing and materials applications.

Cobalt oxide silica membranes for desalination.

This work shows for the first time the potential of cobalt oxide silica (CoO(x)Si) membranes for desalination of brackish (1 wt.% NaCl), seawater (3.5 wt.% NaCl) and brine (7.5-15 wt.% NaCl) concentrations at feed temperatures between 25 and 75 °C. CoO(x)Si xerogels were synthesised via a sol-gel method including TEOS, cobalt nitrate hydrate and peroxide. Initial hydrothermal exposure (<2 days) of xerogels prepared with various pH (3-6) resulted in densification of the xerogel via condensation reactions within the silica matrix, with the xerogel synthesised at pH 5 the most resistant. Subsequent exposure was not found to significantly alter the pore structure of the xerogels, suggesting they were hydrostable and that the pore sizes remained at molecular sieving dimensions. Membranes were then synthesised using identical sol-gel conditions to the xerogel samples and testing showed that elevated feed temperatures resulted in increased water fluxes, whilst increasing the saline feed concentration resulted in decreased water fluxes. The maximum flux observed was 1.8 kg m(-2) h(-1) at 75 °C for a 1 wt.% NaCl feed concentration. The salt rejection was consistently in excess of 99%, independent of either the testing temperature or salt feed concentration.

Synthesis of sintering-resistant sorbents for CO2 capture.

Sorbents for high temperature CO2 capture are under intensive development owing to their potential applications in advanced zero emission power, sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming for hydrogen production and energy storage systems in chemical heat pumps. One of the challenges in the development is the prevention of sintering of the sorbent (normally a calcium oxide derivative) which causes the CO2 capture capacity of the material to deteriorate rapidly after a few cycles of utilization. Here we show that a simple wet mixing method can produce sintering-resistant sorbents from calcium and magnesium salts of d-gluconic acid. It was found that calcium oxide was well distributed in the sorbents with metal oxide nanoparticles on the surface acting as physical barriers, and the CO2 capture capacity of the sorbents was largely maintained over multiple cycles of utilization. This method was also applied to other organometallic salts of calcium and magnesium/aluminum and the produced sorbents showed similarly high reversibility.