We researched fabrication of porous ceramics with controlled pores
with Dr. P. Alberius and Dr. L. Bergström who belong to YKI,
Institute for Surface Chemistry, Sweden. Polystyrene (PS) colloidal
particles have been used as templates to produce ordered silica macroporous
structures. The silica-films were deposited from ethanol solution
containing acidic water and tetraethyl orthosilicate. The silica covered
PS spheres were characterized using transmission electron microscopy,
and the film thickness determined by scanning electron microscopy.
Ordered macroporous structures were formed by centrifugation of silica-coated
PS spheres. Calcination of the close-packed spheres yielded a continuous
silica matrix consisting of a three-dimensional well-ordered network
of monodisperse pores.
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SEM micrographs of close-packed
structures formed by centrifugation of silica-coated PS particles.
(a) Prior to calcination; (b) After calcining at 500 ºC;
and (c) The structure at higher magnification.
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| Relational Information |
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AIST Today Vol. 3, No. 1 (2003) 21
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No.8
Spring 2003
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