title: Percolation Diffusion into Self-Assembled Mesoporous Silica Microfibres.
abstract: Percolation diffusion into long (11.5 cm) self-assembled, ordered mesoporous microfibres is studied using optical transmission and laser ablation inductive coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Optical transmission based diffusion studies reveal rapid penetration (<5 s,D> 80 μm²∙s-¹) of Rhodamine B with very little percolation of larger molecules such as zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) observed under similar loading conditions. The failure of ZnTPP to enter the microfibre was confirmed, in higher resolution, using LA-ICP-MS. In the latter case, LA-ICP-MS was used to determine the diffusion of zinc acetate dihydrate,D~3 × 10-4nm²∙s-1. The large differences between the molecules are accounted for by proposing ordered solvent and structure assisted accelerated diffusion of the Rhodamine B based on its hydrophilicity relative to the zinc compounds. The broader implications and applications for filtration, molecular sieves and a range of devices and uses are described.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Photonics Laboratories, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. john.canning@sydney.edu.au.|School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. john.canning@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Canning
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Photonics Laboratories, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. shhu2628@uni.sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huyang
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Photonics Laboratories, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. mima7971@uni.sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Miles
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Forensic Science/Institute for Nanoscale Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney NSW 2007, Australia. alison.beavis@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beavis
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Forensic Science/Institute for Nanoscale Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney NSW 2007, Australia. david.bishop@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Photonics Laboratories, School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. kevin.cook@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Forensic Science/Institute for Nanoscale Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney NSW 2007, Australia. andrew.mcdonagh@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McDonagh
authors.affiliation: Photonics and Optical Communications, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia. dongqi@uow.edu.au.
authors.forename: Dongqi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Photonics and Optical Communications, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia. g.peng@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Gang-Ding
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. maxwell.crossley@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Maxwell J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Crossley
keywords: colloids; filters; laser ablation inductive coupled mass spectroscopy; mesoporous; microfibres; microfluidics; microwires; molecular sieves; nano-composites; nanoparticles; nanopores; self-assembly; sensors; super diffusion