Chemistry and properties of porous, organically modified silica

Abstract

Sol-gel techniques were used to prepare porous, organically modified silica materials. The introduction of organic groupings was carried out with alkoxysilanes as precursors; methyl and propyl amino groups were used. The results show that high-porosity materials can be synthesized; the microstructure strongly depends on reaction conditions such as composition, solvent, catalyst type, and concentration. Microstructure tailoring affects mechanical as well as adsorption properties, and custom-made materials such as abrasives and adsorbents with special properties were synthesized.