title: The use of in situ and ex situ techniques for the study of the formation mechanism of mesoporous silica formed with non-ionic triblock copolymers.
abstract: Since the discovery of the mesoporous silica material templated by ionic surfactants and the subsequent development of materials templated by non-ionic surfactants and polymers, for example SBA-15, there has been a continuous research effort towards understanding their formation. In situ methodologies, such as Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), spectroscopic techniques like NMR and EPR, and ex situ methodologies such as electron microscopy techniques (SEM, TEM and cryo-TEM) are powerful and important tools in the investigation of the mechanism by which these materials form. The need for a fundamental understanding of the systems is of academic concern and of great importance when developing materials for applications. In this tutorial review we aim to give the reader a comprehensive overview on the development of the field over the years and an introduction to the experimental in situ and ex situ techniques that have been used.
authors.affiliation: Physical Chemistry, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, 221 00, Lund, Sweden. tomas.kjellman@fkem1.lu.se
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kjellman
authors.forename: Viveka
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alfredsson
mesh_terms: D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D012822:Silicon Dioxide