title: Microfluidic synthesis of monodisperse nanoporous oxide particles and control of hierarchical pore structure.
abstract: Particles with hierarchical porosity can be formed by templating silica microparticles with a specially designed surfactant micelle/oil nanoemulsion mixture. The nanoemulsion oil droplet and micellar dimensions determine the pore size distribution: one set of pores with diameters of tens of nanometers coexisting with a second subset of pores with diameters of single nanometers. Further practical utility of these nanoporous particles requires precise tailoring of the hierarchical pore structure. In this synthesis study, the particle nanostructure is tuned by adjusting the oil, water, and surfactant mixture composition for the controlled design of nanoemulsion-templated features. We also demonstrate control of the size distribution and surface area of the smaller micelle-templated pores as a consequence of altering the hydrophobic chain length of the molecular surfactant template. Moreover, a microfluidic system is designed to process the low interfacial system for fabrication of monodisperse porous particles. The ability to direct the assembly of template nanoemulsion and micelle structures creates new opportunities to engineer hierarchically porous particles for utility as electrocatalysts for fuel cells, chromatography separations, drug delivery vehicles, and other applications.
authors: Department for Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, United States.
authors: Nick J
authors: NJ
authors: Carroll
authors: Peter F
authors: PF
authors: Crowder
authors: Svitlana
authors: S
authors: Pylypenko
authors: Wendy
authors: W
authors: Patterson
authors: Dilru R
authors: DR
authors: Ratnaweera
authors: Dvora
authors: D
authors: Perahia
authors: Plamen
authors: P
authors: Atanassov
authors: Dimiter N
authors: DN
authors: Petsev
mesh_terms: D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry; D008823:Micelles; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions; D008823:Micelles; D010087:Oxides; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D012822:Silicon Dioxide