Publication:

New hybrid organochlorinated xerogels

Hybrid silica xerogels (HSXG) combine the properties of organic and inorganic components in the same material, which makes them promising and versatile candidates for multiple applications. These materials can be easily prepared by the sol-gel process, which offers the possibility to obtain different morphologies. The incorporation of organic precursors plays an important role in their properties, hence, allowing the design of materials for specific applications such as coatings for optical fibers [1]. The aim of this work was to study the influence of the alkyl chain and chlorine atom on the morphological and textural properties of various hybrid materials produced by co-condensation. For this purpose, three series of hybrid xerogels were prepared by co-condensation of TEOS and a chloroalkyltriethoxysilane (TEOS:ClRTEOS, R = methyl, ethyl or propyl) at different molar ratios. The influence of the precursors on the structure and textural properties of the xerogels was studied by means of N2 adsorption, XRD (X-ray diffraction), 29Si NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and FE-SEM (Field Emission-scanning electron microscope) [2].