Silica monolith aerogels with different degrees of hydrophobicity by incorporating methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) or trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) in standard sol-gel synthesis were prepared. Excellent properties of aerogels, obtained with the sol-gel synthesis, were preserved with supercritical drying with CO2. The degree of hydrophobicity of the aerogels was tested by measuring the contact angl...

In this letter, we report the experimental results of pressure induced infiltration in the hydrophobic nanopores of a silica gel. The infiltration pressure increases with the prolonged surface treatment time, whereas the infiltration volume is not dependent on the surface coverage. When temperature increases, if the liquid phase is pure water, the infiltration pressure would decrease, which is ...

The net charge of a colloidal particle was controlled using light and a new photocleavable self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The SAM contained a terminal ammonium group and a centrally located carboxylic acid group that was masked with an ortho-nitrobenzyl functionality. Once exposed to UV light, the 2-nitrobenzyl group was cleaved, therefore transforming the colloidal particle from a net positiv...

An in-depth investigation into the synthesis of hydrophobic silica aerogels prepared by the surface derivatization of wet gels followed by subsequent drying at ambient pressure is reported. The following sol-gel parameters were examined for their effect on the physical properties of the derived aerogels: number of gel washings with water, percentage of hexane or methanol in silylating mixture, ...

In the present investigation, lead iodate crystals were grown in silica gel at ambient temperature. The effect of various parameters like gel concentration, pH of gel, gel ageing, concentration of the reactants on the growth of these crystals were studied. Good quality crystals having different morphologies and habits were obtained. Some of These crystals were opaque and some were translucent.

The drug molecule Propranolol has been encapsulated by a sol-gel process in an organic-inorganic hybrid matrix by in-situ self-assembly; the 2D HETCOR solid state NMR spectroscopy provides direct proof of the intimate spatial relationship between the host matrix and guest drug molecules.