Adsorption, intrusion and freezing in porous silica: the view from the nanoscale

Molecular Simulation of Naphthalene, Phenanthrene, and Pyrene Adsorption on MCM-41

The adsorption of three typical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene with different ring numbers, on a common mesoporous material (MCM-41) was simulated based on a well-validated model. The adsorption equilibriums (isotherms), states (angle distributions and density profiles), and interactions (radial distribution functions) of three PAHs within the mesopores were studied in detail. The results show that the simulated isotherms agreed with previous experimental results. Each of the PAHs with flat molecules showed an adsorption configuration that was parallel to the surface of the pore, in the following order according to the degree of arrangement: pyrene (Pyr) > phenanthrene (Phe) > naphthalene (Nap). In terms of the interaction forces, there were no hydrogen bonds or other strong polar forces between the PAHs and MCM-41, and the O⁻H bond on the adsorbent surface had a unique angle in relation to the PAH molecular plane. The polarities of different H atoms on the PAHs were roughly the same, while those of the C atoms on the PAHs decreased from the molecular centers to the edges. The increasing area of the π-electron plane on the PAHs with the increasing ring number could lead to stronger adsorption interactions, and thus a shorter distance between the adsorbate and the adsorbent.

Thermodynamics of sustaining liquid water within rough icephobic surfaces to achieve ultra-low ice adhesion

The build-up of ice on aircraft, bridges, oil rigs, wind turbines, electrical lines, and other surfaces exposed to cold environments diminishes their safe and effective operation. To engineer robust surfaces that reduce ice adhesion, it is necessary to understand the physics of what makes a surface icephobic (“ice-hating”) as well as the relationship between icephobicity and ice adhesion. Here we elucidate the molecular origin of icephobicity based on ice-surface interactions and characterize the correlation between material icephobicity and liquid wettability. This fundamental understanding of icephobic characteristics enables us to propose a robust design for topologically textured, icephobic surfaces. The design identifies the critical confinement length scale to sustain liquid water (as opposed to ice) in between roughness features and can reduce the strength of ice adhesion by over a factor of twenty-seven compared to traditional hydrophobic surfaces. The reduction in ice adhesion is due to the metastability of liquid water; as ambient ice cleaves from the textured surface, liquid water leaves confinement and freezes – a process which takes the system from a local energy minimum to a global energy minimum. This phase transition generates a detachment force that actively propels ambient ice from the surface.

Facile fabrication of sponge-like hierarchically porous Ni,La–SrTiO3 templated by in situ generated carbon deposits and the enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Hierarchical pore-induced multiple internal reflections and/or scattering of light improves the capability of light trapping and thus photocatalytic efficiency.

Specific Surface Area Determination for Microporous/Mesoporous Materials: The Case of Mesoporous FAU-Y Zeolites

A methodology for determining the micropore, mesopore, and external surface areas of hierarchical microporous/mesoporous materials from N₂ adsorption isotherms at 77 K is described. For FAU-Y zeolites, the microporous surface area calculated using the Rouquerol criterion and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation is in accord with the geometrical surface determined by the chord length distribution method. Therefore, BET surface area ( S_BET) is the well representative of micropore surface areas of microporous materials and of total surface area of microporous/mesoporous materials. Mechanical mixtures of mesoporous MCM-41 and microporous FAU-Y powders of known surface areas were used to calculate the respective surface areas by weighted linear combination and the results were compared to the values obtained by the t-plot method. The first slope of the t-plot determined the mesopore and external surface areas ( S_mes+ext). The linear fit of the first slope is in general in the range 0.01 < p/ p₀ < 0.17 and contains the volumes and relative pressures at which all micropores are filled ( p/ p₀ > 0.10). Overestimation of S_mes+ext values was evident and appropriate corrections were provided. External surface areas ( S_ext) were obtained from the second slope of the t-plot, without noting an overestimation of S_ext, thus allowing the determination of mesopore surface areas ( S_mes) by difference. Micropore surface areas were calculated by subtracting S_mes+ext from the total surface area, S_BET. As an example, this methodology was applied to characterize a family of hierarchical microporous/mesoporous FAU-Y (FAUmes) synthesized from H-FAU-Y (H-Y, Si/Al = 15) using C18TAB as the surfactant and different NaOH/Si ratios (0.05 < NaOH/Si < 0.25). By increasing the NaOH/Si ratio in the synthesis of FAUmes, it was shown that as the micropore surface area decreases, the mesopore surface area increases, whereas the micropore and mesopore surface area remains constant. This methodology allows accurate characterization of the surface areas of microporous/mesoporous materials.

Adsorption on alumina nanopores with conical shape

Adsorption on porous solids depends on the morphology of the pores, the cylindrical one being the most studied in the literature. In this work, we present the first experimental investigation of adsorption and evaporation on conical nanopores produced by anodization of aluminium oxide. The pores are about 50 μm long, with the wide ends having a diameter of ∼79 nm and the narrow ones of ∼30 nm. Three different pores configurations are considered: open at both ends, open only at the narrow end and open only at the wide end. Despite the very small value of the conical angle α, estimated to be ∼0.06°, just barely above α = 0° corresponding to a cylindrical pore, the adsorption isotherms look strikingly different from those measured on cylindrical pores of similar size. First of all, the hysteresis loops of the conical pores with two open ends and with open wide ends practically coincide. Furthermore, they are narrower and the adsorption and evaporation branches are broader than those of the cylindrical pores with similar size. Finally, conical pores with open narrow ends exhibit a large hysteresis indicative of pore blocking. To unravel the mechanisms underlying adsorption and evaporation in such conical pores, we also report complementary results obtained using on-lattice grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations.

Aspartic acid functionalized PEGylated MSN@GO hybrid as an effective and sustainable nano-system for in-vitro drug delivery

PURPOSE

In this research, aspartic acid functionalized PEGylated mesoporous silica nanoparticlesgraphene oxide nanohybrid (As-PEGylated-MSN@GO) prepared as a pH-responsive drug carrier for the curcumin delivery. For better camouflage during blood circulation, poly(ethylene glycol) was decorated on the surface of MSN@GO nanohybrid.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The nanocarrier was characterized by using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-vis spectroscopy, thermal gravimetry analysis (TGA), FT-IR, SEM and TEM.

RESULTS

The size of modified MSN@GO was around 75.8 nm and 24% wt. of curcumin was loaded on the final nanohybrid. pHdecrement from 7.4 to 5.8 the release medium led to increase the cumulative amount of drug release from 54% to 98%.

CONCLUSIONS

As-functionalized MSN@GO had no cytotoxicity against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human mammary epithelial (MCF10A) as cancerous and normal cell lines, respectively. Whereas curcuminloaded nanohybrid showed excellent killing capability against MCF-7 cells.

Role of hydrogen bonding in hysteresis observed in sorption-induced swelling of soft nanoporous polymers

Hysteresis is observed in sorption-induced swelling in various soft nanoporous polymers. The associated coupling mechanism responsible for the observed sorption-induced swelling and associated hysteresis needs to be unraveled. Here we report a microscopic scenario for the molecular mechanism responsible for hysteresis in sorption-induced swelling in natural polymers such as cellulose using atom-scale simulation; moisture content and swelling exhibit hysteresis upon ad- and desorption but not swelling versus moisture content. Different hydrogen bond networks are examined; cellulose swells to form water-cellulose bonds upon adsorption but these bonds do not break upon desorption at the same chemical potential. These findings, which are supported by mechanical testing and cellulose textural assessment upon sorption, shed light on experimental observations for wood and other related materials.

Surface premelting/recrystallization governing the collapse of open-cell nanoporous Cu via thermal annealing

We systematically investigate the collapse of a set of open-cell nanoporous Cu (np-Cu) materials with the same porosity and shape but different specific surface areas, during thermal annealing, by performing large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. Two mechanisms govern the collapse of np-Cu. One is direct surface premelting, facilitating the collapse of np-Cu, when the specific surface area is less than a critical value (∼2.38 nm-1). The other is recrystallization followed by surface premelting, accelerating the sloughing of ligaments and the annihilation of voids, when the critical specific surface area is exceeded. Surface premelting results from surface reconstruction by prompting localized "disordering" and "chaos" on the surface, and the melting temperature reduces linearly with the increase of the specific surface area. Recrystallization is followed by surface premelting as the melting temperature is below the supercooling point, where a liquid is unstable and instantaneously recrystallizes.

Stochastic analysis of capillary condensation in disordered mesopores

Most mesoporous materials of practical interest are inherently disordered, which has a significant impact on the condensation and evaporation of vapours in their pores. Traditionally, the effect of disorder is theoretically analyzed in a perturbative approach whereby slight elements of disorder (constriction, corrugation) are added to geometrically ideal pores. We propose an alternative approach, which consists of using a stochastic geometrical model to describe both the porous material and the condensate within the pores. This is done through a multiphase generalisation of the standard Gaussian random field model of disordered materials. The model parameters characterising the condensate provide a low-dimensional approximation of its configuration space, and we use a Derjaguin-Broekhoff-de Boer approximation to calculate the free-energy landscape. Our analysis notably questions the existence of vapour-like metastable states in realistically disordered mesoporous materials. Beyond capillary condensation, our general methodology is applicable to a broad array of confined phenomena.

Supramolecular Organization in Confined Nanospaces

Empty spaces are abhorred by nature, which immediately rushes in to fill the void. Humans have learnt pretty well how to make ordered empty nanocontainers, and to get useful products out of them. When such an order is imparted to molecules, new properties may appear, often yielding advanced applications. This review illustrates how the organized void space inherently present in various materials: zeolites, clathrates, mesoporous silica/organosilica, and metal organic frameworks (MOF), for example, can be exploited to create confined, organized, and self-assembled supramolecular structures of low dimensionality. Features of the confining matrices relevant to organization are presented with special focus on molecular-level aspects. Selected examples of confined supramolecular assemblies - from small molecules to quantum dots or luminescent species - are aimed to show the complexity and potential of this approach. Natural confinement (minerals) and hyperconfinement (high pressure) provide further opportunities to understand and master the atomistic-level interactions governing supramolecular organization under nanospace restrictions.

Impact of Nanoporosity on Hydrocarbon Transport in Shales' Organic Matter

In a context of growing attention for shale gas, the precise impact of organic matter (kerogen) on hydrocarbon recovery from unconventional reservoirs still has to be assessed. Kerogen's microstructure is characterized by a very disordered pore network that greatly affects hydrocarbon transport. The specific structure and texture of this organic matter at the nanoscale is highly dependent on its origin. In this study, by the use of statistical physics and molecular dynamics, we shed some new lights on hydrocarbon transport through realistic molecular models of kerogen at different level of maturity [ Bousige et al. Nat. Mater. 2016 , 15 , 576 ]. Despite the apparent complexity, severe confinement effects controlled by the porosity of the various kerogens allow linear alkanes (from methane to dodecane) transport to be studied only via the self-diffusion coefficients of the species. The decrease of the transport coefficients with the amount of adsorbed fluid can be described by a free volume theory. Ultimately, the transport coefficients of hydrocarbons can be expressed simply as a function of the porosity (volume fraction of void) of the microstructure, thus paving the way for shale gas recovery predictions.

Vapor-liquid phase behavior of a size-asymmetric model of ionic fluids confined in a disordered matrix: The collective-variables-based approach

We develop a theory based on the method of collective variables to study the vapor-liquid equilibrium of asymmetric ionic fluids confined in a disordered porous matrix. The approach allows us to formulate the perturbation theory using an extension of the scaled particle theory for a description of a reference system presented as a two-component hard-sphere fluid confined in a hard-sphere matrix. Treating an ionic fluid as a size- and charge-asymmetric primitive model (PM) we derive an explicit expression for the relevant chemical potential of a confined ionic system which takes into account the third-order correlations between ions. Using this expression, the phase diagrams for a size-asymmetric PM are calculated for different matrix porosities as well as for different sizes of matrix and fluid particles. It is observed that general trends of the coexistence curves with the matrix porosity are similar to those of simple fluids under disordered confinement, i.e., the coexistence region gets narrower with a decrease of porosity and, simultaneously, the reduced critical temperature T_{c}^{*} and the critical density ρ_{i,c}^{*} become lower. At the same time, our results suggest that an increase in size asymmetry of oppositely charged ions considerably affects the vapor-liquid diagrams leading to a faster decrease of T_{c}^{*} and ρ_{i,c}^{*} and even to a disappearance of the phase transition, especially for the case of small matrix particles.

Thermal properties of lauric acid filled in carbon nanotubes as shape-stabilized phase change materials

A relationship between the melting temperature shift and the structural properties of lauric acid confined in carbon nanotubes based on the Gibbs–Thomson equation.

Dynamics of nano-confined water in Portland cement - comparison with synthetic C-S-H gel and other silicate materials

The dynamics of water confined in cement materials is still a matter of debate in spite of the fact that water has a major influence on properties such as durability and performance. In this study, we have investigated the dynamics of water confined in Portland cement (OPC) at different curing ages (3 weeks and 4 years after preparation) and at three water-to-cement ratios (w/c, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5). Using broadband dielectric spectroscopy, we distinguish four different dynamics due to water molecules confined in the pores of different sizes of cements. Here we show how water dynamics is modified by the evolution in the microstructure (maturity) and the w/c ratio. The fastest dynamics (processes 1 and 2, representing very local water dynamics) are independent of water content and the degree of maturity whereas the slowest dynamics (processes 3 and 4) are dependent on the microstructure developed during curing. Additionally, we analyze the differences regarding the water dynamics when confined in synthetic C-S-H gel and in the C-S-H of Portland cement.

Phase transitions in disordered mesoporous solids

Fluids confined in mesoporous solids exhibit a wide range of physical behavior including rich phase equilibria. While a notable progress in their understanding has been achieved for fluids in materials with geometrically ordered pore systems, mesoporous solids with complex pore geometries still remain a topic of active research. In this work we study phase transitions occurring in statistically disordered linear chains of pores with different pore sizes. By considering, quite generally, two phase change mechanisms, nucleation and phase growth, occurring simultaneously we obtain the boundary transitions and the scanning curves resulting upon reversing the sign of the evolution of the chemical potential at different points along the main transition branches. The results obtained are found to reproduces the key experimental observations, including the emergence of hysteresis and the scanning behavior. By deriving the serial pore model isotherm we suggest a robust framework for reliable structural analysis of disordered mesoporous solids.

A single-walker approach for studying quasi-nonergodic systems

The jump-walking Monte-Carlo algorithm is revisited and updated to study the equilibrium properties of systems exhibiting quasi-nonergodicity. It is designed for a single processing thread as opposed to currently predominant algorithms for large parallel processing systems. The updated algorithm is tested on the Ising model and applied to the lattice-gas model for sorption in aerogel at low temperatures, when dynamics of the system is critically slowed down. It is demonstrated that the updated jump-walking simulations are able to produce equilibrium isotherms which are typically hidden by the hysteresis effect characteristic of the standard single-flip simulations.

Synthesis of thermochemically stable tetraphenyladamantane-based microporous polymers as gas storage materials

In view of environmental pollution control and purification of natural gases, developing ideal porous materials for small gas molecule (hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide) capture is an important, pressing challenge.

Hierarchically porous materials: synthesis strategies and structure design

This review addresses recent advances in synthesis strategies of hierarchically porous materials and their structural design from micro-, meso- to macro-length scale.

Recent advances in the textural characterization of hierarchically structured nanoporous materials

This review focuses on important aspects of applying physisorption for the pore structural characterization of hierarchical materials such as mesoporous zeolites.

Designed synthesis of MOx (M = Zn, Fe, Sn, Ni, Mn, Co, Ce, Mg, Ag), Pt, and Au nanoparticles supported on hierarchical CuO hollow structures

Despite intensive research into support substrates for the dispersal of nanoparticles and their applications, there has been a lack of general methods to produce metal oxide hollow substrates supporting a wide range of metal and metal oxides. Herein, a synthetic protocol for the preparation of CuO hollow structure-supported MO_x (M = Zn, Fe, Ni, Sn, Mn, Co, Ce, Mg, and Ag) and noble metals (Pt and Au) with the desired properties and shell structure, such as CuO/Fe₂O₃, CuO/ZnO, CuO/SnO₂, CuO/MgO, CuO/NiO, CuO/Mn₂O₃, CuO/CoO, CuO/CeO₂, CuO/Ag₂O, CuO/Pt, CuO/Au hollow cubes, CuO/ZnO double-shell hollow cubes, CuO/SnO₂ double-shell hollow octahedra, CuO/SnO₂/Fe₂O₃ and CuO/Mn₂O₃/NiO double-shell hollow cubes, was developed based on controlled calcination and etching. These hybrid hollow structures were employed not only as support substrates but also as active constituents for catalytic reactions. As an example, we demonstrated that CuO/ZnO hollow cubes are remarkably efficient in converting solid chitin biomass to liquid chemicals in methanol. In addition, CuO/ZnO double-shell hollow cubes were highly effective in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol in the presence of H₂O₂, whereas CuO/Pt and CuO/Au hollow cubes promoted the oxidation of benzyl alcohol in pure O₂. The strategy developed in this work extends the controllable fabrication of high-quality CuO hollow structure-supported nanoparticles using various compositions and shell structures, paving the way to the exploration and systematic comparison of these materials in a wider range of applications.

Free Volume Theory of Hydrocarbon Mixture Transport in Nanoporous Materials

Despite recent focus on shale gas, hydrocarbon recovery from the ultraconfining and disordered porosity of organic matter in shales (kerogen) remains poorly understood. Key aspects such as the breakdown of hydrodynamics at the nanoscale and strong adsorption effects lead to unexplained non-Darcy behaviors. Here, molecular dynamics and statistical mechanics are used to elucidate hydrocarbon mixture transport through a realistic molecular model of kerogen [ Bousige, C.; et al. Nat. Mater. 2016 , 15 , 576 ]. Owing to strong adsorption effects, velocity cross-correlations between the mixture components and between molecules of the same species are shown to be negligible. This allows estimation of each component permeance from its self-diffusivity, which can be obtained from single-component data. These permeances are found to scale with the reciprocal of the alkane length and decrease with the number of adsorbed molecules following a simple free volume theory, therefore allowing mixture transport prediction as a function of the amount of trapped fluid.

Temperature-mediated phase transformation, pore geometry and pore hysteresis transformation of borohydride derived in-born porous zirconium hydroxide nanopowders

Development of in-born porous nature of zirconium hydroxide nanopowders through a facile hydrogen (H2) gas-bubbles assisted borohydride synthesis route using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and novel information on the temperature-mediated phase transformation, pore geometry as well as pore hysteresis transformation of in-born porous zirconium hydroxide nanopowders with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherm and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images are the main theme of this research work. Without any surfactants or pore forming agents, the borohydride derived amorphous nature of porous powders was stable up to 500 °C and then the seed crystals start to develop within the loose amorphous matrix and trapping the inter-particulate voids, which led to develop the porous nature of tetragonal zirconium oxide at 600 °C and further sustain this porous nature as well as tetragonal phase of zirconium oxide up to 800 °C. The novel hydrogen (H2) gas-bubbles assisted borohydride synthesis route led to develop thermally stable porous zirconium hydroxide/oxide nanopowders with an adequate pore size, pore volume, and surface area and thus these porous materials are further suggested for promising use in different areas of applications.

Magnetic Mesoporous Palladium Catalyzed Selective Hydrogenation of Sunflower Oil

In this paper, a novel magnetic mesoporous Pd catalyst is used to catalyse selective hydrogenation of sunflower oil at a mild temperature of 50°C. Effects of reaction temperature, stirring speed, time, catalyst loading and hydrogen pressure on the reaction activity, trans fatty acid (TFA) and stearic acid formation were studied. Under the condition of 3.2 mg Pd/100 g oil, 50°C, 1300 rpm stirring speed and 19.0 atm of H2, the lowest amount of TFA generated during the reaction (IV = 80) was 14.9 ± 0.4% while 11.4 ± 0.4% of stearic acid was produced. And this magnetic Pd-catalyst can be reused easily for at least six times without significant catalyst deactivation, the amount of TFA almost remained unchanged. Moreover, this Pd-catalyst shows a good magnetic separation, which provides a potential method for the facile oil modification.

Evaluation of Three Amorphous Drug Delivery Technologies to Improve the Oral Absorption of Flubendazole

This study investigates 3 amorphous technologies to improve the dissolution rate and oral bioavailability of flubendazole (FLU). The selected approaches are (1) a standard spray-dried dispersion with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) E5 or polyvinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate 64, both with Vitamin E d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate; (2) a modified process spray-dried dispersion (MPSDD) with either HPMC E3 or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS-M); and (3) confining FLU in ordered mesoporous silica (OMS). The physicochemical stability and in vitro release of optimized formulations were evaluated following 2 weeks of open conditions at 25°C/60% relative humidity (RH) and 40°C/75% RH. All formulations remained amorphous at 25°C/60% RH. Only the MPSDD formulation containing HPMCAS-M and 3/7 (wt./wt.) FLU/OMS did not crystallize following 40°C/75% RH exposure. The OMS and MPSDD formulations contained the lowest and highest amount of hydrolyzed degradant, respectively. All formulations were dosed to rats at 20 mg/kg in suspension. One FLU/OMS formulation was also dosed as a capsule blend. Plasma concentration profiles were determined following a single dose. In vivo findings show that the OMS capsule and suspension resulted in the overall highest area under the curve and C_max values, respectively. These results cross-evaluate various amorphous formulations and provide a link to enhanced biopharmaceutical performance.

Formation of Periodically Arranged Nanobubbles in Mesopores: Capillary Bridge Formation and Cavitation during Sorption and Solidification in an Hierarchical Porous SBA-15 Matrix

We report synchrotron-based small-angle X-ray scattering experiments on a template-grown porous silica matrix (Santa Barbara Amorphous-15) upon in situ sorption of fluorinated pentane C5F12 along with volumetric gas sorption isotherm measurements. Within the mean-field model of Saam and Cole for vapor condensation in cylindrical pores, a nitrogen and C5F12 sorption isotherm is well described by a bimodal pore radius distribution dominated by meso- and micropores with 3.4 and 1.6 nm mean radius, respectively. In the scattering experiments, two different periodicities become evident. One of them (d1 = 11.5 nm) reflects the next nearest neighbor distance in a 2D-hexagonal lattice of tubular mesopores. A second periodicity (d2 = 11.4 nm) found during in situ sorption and freezing experiments is traced back to a superstructure along the cylindrical mesopores. It is compatible with periodic pore corrugations found in electron tomograms of empty SBA-15 by Gommes et al. ( Chem. Mater. 2009, 21, 1311 - 1317). A Rayleigh-Plateau instability occurring at the cylindrical blockcopolymer micelles characteristic of the SBA-15 templating process quantitatively accounts for the superstructure and thus the spatial periodicity of the pore wall corrugation. The consequences of this peculiar morphological feature on the spatial arrangement of C5F12, in particular the formation of periodically arranged nanobubbles (or voids) upon adsorption, desorption, and freezing of liquids, are discussed in terms of capillary bridge formation and cavitation in tubular but periodically corrugated pores.

Multiscale adsorption and transport in hierarchical porous materials

This review presents the state-of-the-art of multiscale adsorption and transport in hierarchical porous materials.

Silica-supported ultra small gold nanoparticles as nanoreactors for the etherification of silanes

Ultra-small Au–SiO₂ nanoparticles worked as nanoreactors for the etherification of silanes with high selectivity and reusability.

Nanoporous chalcogenides for adsorption and gas separation

A realistic model of porous chalcogenide is used to probe the viability of such a class of materials for adsorption and phase separation applications.

Transport properties of hierarchical micro–mesoporous materials

This work provides an overview of different experimental techniques of diffusion measurements in porous materials and discusses transport properties of several classes of hierarchically organized micro-mesoporous materials.

Characterization of Pores in Dense Nanopapers and Nanofibrillated Cellulose Membranes: A Critical Assessment of Established Methods

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) is a natural fibrous material that can be readily processed into membranes. NFC membranes for fluid separation work in aqueous medium, thus in their swollen state. The present study is devoted to a critical investigation of porosity, pore volume, specific surface area, and pore size distribution of dry and wet NFC nanopapers, also known as membranes, with various established techniques, such as electron microscopy, helium pycnometry, mercury intrusion, gas adsorption (N2 and Kr), and thermoporometry. Although these techniques can be successfully applied to inorganic materials (e.g., mesoporous silica), it is necessary to appraise them for organic and hydrophilic products such as NFC membranes. This is due to different phenomena occurring at the materials interfaces with the probing fluids. Mercury intrusion and gas adsorption are often used for the characterization of porosity-related properties; nevertheless, both techniques characterize materials in the dry state. In parallel, thermoporometry was employed to monitor the structure changes upon swelling, and a water permeance test was run to show the accessibility of the membranes to fluids. For the first time, the methods were systematically screened, and we highlighted the need of uniform sample treatments prior to the measurements (i.e., sample cutting and outgassing protocols) in order to harmonize results from the literature. The need for revising the applicability range of mercury intrusion and the inappropriateness of nitrogen adsorption were pointed out. We finally present a table for selecting the most appropriate method to determine a desired property and propose guidelines for results interpretation from which future users could profit.

Metal-Organic Frameworks in Adsorption-Driven Heat Pumps: The Potential of Alcohols as Working Fluids

A large fraction of global energy is consumed for heating and cooling. Adsorption-driven heat pumps and chillers could be employed to reduce this consumption. MOFs are often considered to be ideal adsorbents for heat pumps and chillers. While most published works to date on this topic have focused on the use of water as a working fluid, the instability of many MOFs to water and the fact that water cannot be used at subzero temperatures pose certain drawbacks. The potential of using alcohol-MOF pairs in adsorption-driven heat pumps and chillers is investigated. To this end, 18 different selected MOF structures in combination with either methanol or ethanol as a working fluid are considered, and their potential is assessed on the basis of adsorption measurements and thermodynamic efficiencies. If alcohols are used instead of water, then (1) adsorption occurs at lower relative pressures for methanol and even lower pressure for ethanol, (2) larger pores can be utilized efficiently, as hysteresis is absent for pores smaller than 3.4 nm (2 nm for water), (3) larger pore sizes need to be employed to ensure the desired stepwise adsorption, (4) the effect of (polar/apolar) functional groups in the MOF is far less pronounced, (5) the energy released or taken up per cycle is lower, but heat and mass transfer may be enhanced, (6) stability of MOFs seems to be less of an issue, and (7) cryogenic applications (e.g., ice making) become feasible. From a thermodynamic perspective, UiO-67, CAU-3, and ZIF-8 seem to be the most promising MOFs for both methanol and ethanol as working fluids. Although UiO-67 might not be completely stable, both CAU-3 and ZIF-8 have the potential to be applied, especially in subzero-temperature adsorption chillers (AC).

Control of the Pore Texture in Nanoporous Silicon via Chemical Dissolution

The surface and textural properties of porous silicon (pSi) control many of its physical properties essential to its performance in key applications such as optoelectronics, energy storage, luminescence, sensing, and drug delivery. Here, we combine experimental and theoretical tools to demonstrate that the surface roughness at the nanometer scale of pSi can be tuned in a controlled fashion using partial thermal oxidation followed by removal of the resulting silicon oxide layer with hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution. Such a process is shown to smooth the pSi surface by means of nitrogen adsorption, electron microscopy, and small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering. Statistical mechanics Monte Carlo simulations, which are consistent with the experimental data, support the interpretation that the pore surface is initially rough and that the oxidation/oxide removal procedure diminishes the surface roughness while increasing the pore diameter. As a specific example considered in this work, the initial roughness ξ ∼ 3.2 nm of pSi pores having a diameter of 7.6 nm can be decreased to 1.0 nm following the simple procedure above. This study allows envisioning the design of pSi samples with optimal surface properties toward a specific process.

Effect of chemical environment on the dynamics of water confined in calcium silicate minerals: natural and synthetic tobermorite

Confined water in the slit mesopores of the mineral tobermorite provides an excellent model system for analyzing the dynamic properties of water confined in cement-like materials. In this work, we use broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) to analyze the dynamic of water entrapped in this crystalline material. Two samples, one natural and one synthetic, were analyzed, and despite their similar structure, the motion of confined water in their zeolitic cavity displays considerably different behavior. The water dynamics splits into two different behaviors depending on the chemical nature of the otherwise identical structural environment: water molecules located in areas where the primary building units are SiO4 relax slowly compared to water molecules located in cavities built with both AlO4 and SiO4. Compared to water confined in regular porous systems, water restricted in tobermorite is slower, indicating that the mesopore structure induces high disorder in the water structure. A comparison with water confined in the C-S-H gel is also discussed in this work. The strong dynamical changes in water due to the presence of aluminum might have important implications in the chemical transport of ions within hydrated calcium silicates, a process that governs the leaching and chemical degradation of cement.

Subcontinuum mass transport of condensed hydrocarbons in nanoporous media

Although hydrocarbon production from unconventional reservoirs, the so-called shale gas, has exploded recently, reliable predictions of resource availability and extraction are missing because conventional tools fail to account for their ultra-low permeability and complexity. Here, we use molecular simulation and statistical mechanics to show that continuum description--Darcy's law--fails to predict transport in shales nanoporous matrix (kerogen). The non-Darcy behaviour arises from strong adsorption in kerogen and the breakdown of hydrodynamics at the nanoscale, which contradict the assumption of viscous flow. Despite this complexity, all permeances collapse on a master curve with an unexpected dependence on alkane length. We rationalize this non-hydrodynamic behaviour using a molecular description capturing the scaling of permeance with alkane length and density. These results, which stress the need for a change of paradigm from classical descriptions to nanofluidic transport, have implications for shale gas but more generally for transport in nanoporous media.

Subcontinuum mass transport of condensed hydrocarbons in nanoporous media

Although hydrocarbon production from unconventional reservoirs, the so-called shale gas, has exploded recently, reliable predictions of resource availability and extraction are missing because conventional tools fail to account for their ultra-low permeability and complexity. Here, we use molecular simulation and statistical mechanics to show that continuum description--Darcy's law--fails to predict transport in shales nanoporous matrix (kerogen). The non-Darcy behaviour arises from strong adsorption in kerogen and the breakdown of hydrodynamics at the nanoscale, which contradict the assumption of viscous flow. Despite this complexity, all permeances collapse on a master curve with an unexpected dependence on alkane length. We rationalize this non-hydrodynamic behaviour using a molecular description capturing the scaling of permeance with alkane length and density. These results, which stress the need for a change of paradigm from classical descriptions to nanofluidic transport, have implications for shale gas but more generally for transport in nanoporous media.

Bottom-up model of adsorption and transport in multiscale porous media

We develop a model of transport in multiscale porous media which accounts for adsorption in the different porosity scales. This model employs statistical mechanics to upscale molecular simulation and describe adsorption and transport at larger time and length scales. Using atom-scale simulations, which capture the changes in adsorption and transport with temperature, pressure, pore size, etc., this approach does not assume any adsorption or flow type. Moreover, by relating the local chemical potential μ(r) and density ρ(r), the present model accounts for adsorption effects and possible changes in the confined fluid state upon transport. This model constitutes a bottom-up framework of adsorption and transport in multiscale materials as it (1) describes the adsorption-transport interplay, (2) accounts for the hydrodynamics breakdown at the nm scale, and (3) is multiscale.

The dependence of phase change enthalpy on the pore structure and interfacial groups in hydrated salts/silica composites via sol-gel

It was found that the procedures for incorporating hydrated salts into silica, including mixing with sol in an instant (S1 procedure), mixing with sol via drop by drop (S2 procedure) and mixing until the sol forming the gel (S3 procedure), had pronounced effects on the phase change enthalpy of hydrated salts/silica composite via sol-gel process. The discrepancy of phase change enthalpies of the composites with the same content of hydrated salts can be as high as 40 kJ/kg. To unveil the mechanism behind, the pore structure of silica matrix and interfacial functional groups were investigated extensively. It was revealed that different incorporation procedures resulted in distinct pore structure of silica matrix and different intensities of interfacial Si-OH groups. The S3 procedure was beneficial to induce the silica matrix with bigger pore size and fewer Si-OH groups. Consequently, the phase change enthalpy of the hydrated salts/silica composite prepared by this procedure was the highest because of its lower size confinement effects and weaker adsorption by Si-OH groups. This study will provide insight into the preparation of shape-stabilized phase change materials for thermal energy storage applications.

Haemolytic activity and cellular toxicity of SBA-15-type silicas: elucidating the role of the mesostructure, surface functionality and linker length

Haemolytic activity and cellular toxicity of native, amino-, mercapto-, and carboxy-terminated SBA-15-type silicates were investigated.

Ion-specific adsorption and electroosmosis in charged amorphous porous silica

Aqueous electrolyte solutions (NaCl, KCl, CsCl, and SrCl₂) confined in a negatively charged amorphous silica slit pore.

Validity of the t-plot method to assess microporosity in hierarchical micro/mesoporous materials

The t-plot method is a well-known technique which allows determining the micro- and/or mesoporous volumes and the specific surface area of a sample by comparison with a reference adsorption isotherm of a nonporous material having the same surface chemistry. In this paper, the validity of the t-plot method is discussed in the case of hierarchical porous materials exhibiting both micro- and mesoporosities. Different hierarchical zeolites with MCM-41 type ordered mesoporosity are prepared using pseudomorphic transformation. For comparison, we also consider simple mechanical mixtures of microporous and mesoporous materials. We first show an intrinsic failure of the t-plot method; this method does not describe the fact that, for a given surface chemistry and pressure, the thickness of the film adsorbed in micropores or small mesopores (< 10σ, σ being the diameter of the adsorbate) increases with decreasing the pore size (curvature effect). We further show that such an effect, which arises from the fact that the surface area and, hence, the free energy of the curved gas/liquid interface decreases with increasing the film thickness, is captured using the simple thermodynamical model by Derjaguin. The effect of such a drawback on the ability of the t-plot method to estimate the micro- and mesoporous volumes of hierarchical samples is then discussed, and an abacus is given to correct the underestimated microporous volume by the t-plot method.

Advanced nanoporous materials for micro-gravimetric sensing to trace-level bio/chemical molecules

Functionalized nanoporous materials have been developed recently as bio/chemical sensing materials. Due to the huge specific surface of the nano-materials for molecular adsorption, high hopes have been placed on gravimetric detection with micro/nano resonant cantilevers for ultra-sensitive sensing of low-concentration bio/chemical substances. In order to enhance selectivity of the gravimetric resonant sensors to the target molecules, it is crucial to modify specific groups onto the pore-surface of the nano-materials. By loading the nanoporous sensing material onto the desired region of the mass-type transducers like resonant cantilevers, the micro-gravimetric bio/chemical sensors can be formed. Recently, such micro-gravimetric bio/chemical sensors have been successfully applied for rapid or on-the-spot detection of various bio/chemical molecules at the trace-concentration level. The applicable nanoporous sensing materials include mesoporous silica, zeolite, nanoporous graphene oxide (GO) and so on. This review article focuses on the recent achievements in design, preparation, functionalization and characterization of advanced nanoporous sensing materials for micro-gravimetric bio/chemical sensing.