Bt. Holland et al., Synthesis of highly ordered, three-dimensional, macroporous structures of amorphous or crystalline inorganic oxides, phosphates, and hybrid composites, CHEM MATER, 11(3), 1999, pp. 795-805
The synthesis of highly ordered macroporous materials has been accomplished
in a straightforward, single-step reaction. Inorganic frameworks composed
of oxides of Si, Ti, Zr, Al, W, Fe, Sb, and a Zr/Y mixture were formed from
metal alkoxide precursors templated around polystyrene (latex) spheres. Mo
nodisperse latex spheres were ordered into close-packed arrays by centrifug
ation. The interstices between latex spheres were permeated by the alkoxide
, which hydrolyzed and condensed. An inorganic framework was formed upon dr
ying. Removal of the latex spheres was accomplished by either calcination a
t temperatures between 450 and 1000 degrees C or extraction with a tetrahyd
rofuran/acetone mixture. The resulting products consisted of periodic, inte
rconnected networks of monodisperse submicron pores extending over hundreds
of micrometers. Depending on the technique of template removal, various ph
ases of the inorganic oxide could be formed. For example, in the case of ti
tania, an amorphous phase was formed upon extraction of TiO2 and anatase by
calcination at 450 degrees C. The synthesis has also been expanded to othe
r compositions including aluminophosphates and hybrid organosilicates, as w
ell as silicates with bimodal distributions of meso- and macropores. The ma
terials presented in this paper show the diversity of macroporous materials
achievable with this technique. These structures could potentially find ap
plications as chromatographic support materials, solid catalysts, battery m
aterials, thermal insulators, or photonic crystals.