Highly ordered mesoporous carbon-silica nanocomposites with interpenetrating carbon and silica networks were synthesized by the evaporation-induced tri-constituent co- assembly approach. The removal of silica by concentrated NaOH solution produced mesoporous carbons, which contained not only the primary large pores, but also the secondary mesopores in the carbon walls. The thus synthesized mesoporous carbon was further activated by using ZnCl2. The activated mesoporous carbon showed an improved surface area and pore volume. The synthesized mesoporous carbon was tested for diuron removal from water and the results showed that the carbon gave a fast diuron adsorption kinetics and a high diuron removal capacity, which was attributable to the primary mesopore channels being the highway for mass transfer, which led to short diffusion path length and easy accessibility of the interpenetrated secondary mesopores. The optimal adsorption capacity of the porous carbon was determined to be 390 mg/g, the highest values ever reported for diuron adsorption on carbon-based materials.

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The reduction of CO2 emission has been a worldwide mission to resolve global warming predicament. Mesoporous silsesquioxanes, which stabilized by organobridges and has high content aminon absorption site, can serve as a potential CO2 adsorbent. Synthesis of such material is done by hydrolysis and polycondensation of trialkoxysilane. The fastest gelation was observed at reaction in the absence of acids or bases. However, addition of surfactant to the reaction mixture catalyzed formation of silsesquioxanes in acidic media. Obtained materials are strongly hydrophilic and possess a high thermostability. Study of particle size distributions showed that in all cases it was bimodal. The largest particles formed in basic media. Mesoporous silsesquioxanes were obtained from bridged alkyltrimethoxysilanes in the presence of surfactants.

Presence of a chelating ligand in the clay structure significantly improves its ability to immobilize heavy metals from contaminated sludge or wastewater. Two-step modification procedure comprising sequential pillaring and grafting of chelating agent to the modified clay is involved. Montmorillonite and kaolin were chosen as typical examples of expandable and non-expandable clays, correspondingly. Modifications with silica and ferric oxide were targeted on development of mesoporous structure. Laboratory tests of the organoclay efficiency for purification of wastewater were conducted with the most promising sample, i.e. organoclay with the highest specific loading of chelating agent. Experiments were conducted with model wastewater containing either individual or mixed cations of heavy metals. The modified organoclay displayed a high adsorption capacity on heavy metal cations even in acidic media. The method of modification presented in this work can be used for synthesis of efficient adsorbents for applications in contaminated areas.

Water contamination through substances called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a worldwide problem. Being able to measure the concentrations of PFAS in water is a first step towards beating this contamination. One alternative is to use a field test kit instead of extensive lab equipment to monitor the contaminated areas. This thesis has investigated the possibility of using amine-functionalized mesoporous carbon as adsorbent to develop a detection method based on adsorbing first PFAS and then dye in aqueous solutions. The non-adsorbed dye concentrations are depending on the amount of PFAS, and hence the colour intensity in the remaining solution is proportional to PFAS concentration. Mesoporous carbon with amine functional groups were chosen as specific adsorbents for PFAS because of its large surface area and high adsorption capacity. It has been shown that some colorants would react in a similar way as PFAS on sorbents and thus can be used as an indicator for the user. In the study, the two most common PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, were studied and Rose Bengal was the dye. The adsorbent’s morphology, pore structure and pore size was verified with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen sorption before being tested. Adsorption tests were performed using different PFAS concentrations and a dye solution range in order to find three things: the detection range, the ratio powder/solution in order to see a difference, and the adsorption or saturation time for both PFAS and dye. This thesis concluded that even though the adsorbent was not as efficient as predicted, this method could be used for detecting PFAS concentrations down to at least 0.1 pg/ml and could be a possible approach for quick field tests in the future.

Ordered mesoporous materials have attracted much attention recently for use in a wide range of applications. The oxidising materials, ceria (CeO₂) and CGO (Ce₀.₉Gd₀.₁O[subscript(2-δ)]) have both been synthesised with ordered mesopores, but a method for the simple fabrication of these materials in high yields with crystalline pore walls has not yet been reported in the literature. This thesis details the development of the vacuum impregnation method for the synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials with emphasis on ceria and CGO. Using the vacuum impregnation method both materials were successfully prepared. The materials exhibited the porous single crystal morphology in high yields, with unusual crystallographic features. Nitrogen physisorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), TEM tomography and temperature programmed studies were employed. Temperature programmed studies showed the materials to be catalytically active at lower temperatures than traditionally-prepared ceria. Photovoltaic studies showed that the materials exhibited efficient exciton quenching. The observation of nanowire extrusion during the synthetic procedure assisted in the postulation of a mechanism for product formation in the vacuum impregnation method. The vacuum impregnation method was subsequently shown to be applicable to the synthesis of other materials, with encouraging results presented for ordered mesoporous carbon and Zr₀.₈₄Y₀.₁₆O[subscript(2-δ)]. The syntheses of ordered mesoporous La₀.₈₅Sr₀.₁₅GaO[subscript(3-δ)] and La₀.₇₆Sr₀.₁₉CoO[subscript(3-δ)] were unsuccessful.

Mesoporous γ-alumina is the most extensively used catalysts support in a wide range of catalytic processes. The usefulness of γ-alumina relies on its favorable combination of physical, textural, thermal, and chemical properties. Pore structure properties are among the most important properties, since high surface area and large pore volume enable higher loading of active catalytic phases, while design of pore size and pore size distribution is critical to optimize pore diffusional transport and product selectivity. In addition, accurate determination of surface area (SA), pore volume (PV) and pore size distribution (PSD) of porous supports, catalysts, and nanomaterials is vital to successful design and optimization of these materials and to the development of robust models of pore diffusional resistance and catalyst deactivation.In this dissertation, we report a simple, one-pot, solvent-deficient process to synthesize mesoporous γ-alumina without using external templates or surfactants. XRD, TEM, TGA and N2 adsorption techniques are used to characterize the morphologies and structures of the prepared alumina nanomaterials. By varying the aluminum salts or the water to aluminum molar ratio in the hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxides, γ-alumina with different morphologies and pore structures are synthesized. The obtained alumina nanomaterials have surface areas ranging from 210 m2/g to 340 m2/g, pore volumes ranging from 0.4 cm3/g to 1.7 cm3/g, and average pore widths from 4 to 18 nm. By varying the alcohols used in the rinsing and gelation of boehmite/bayerite precursors derived from a controlled hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxides, the average pore width of the γ-aluminas can be tuned from 7 to 37 nm. We also report improved calculations of PSD based on the Kelvin equation and a proposed Slit Pore Geometry model for slit-shaped mesopores of relatively large pore size (>10 nm). Two structural factors, α and β, are introduced to correct for non-ideal pore geometries. The volume density function for a log normal distribution is used to calculate the geometric mean pore diameter and standard deviation of the PSD. The Comparative Adsorption (αs) Method is also employed to independently assess mesopore surface area and volume.

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Wagner Alves Carvalho / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia/Química, 2016. / Zeólitas hierárquicas possuindo estrutura tipo MFI foram preparadas hidrotermicamente utilizando surfactantes como agentes direcionadores de estrutura, constituídos por grupos de amônio quaternário sintetizados neste trabalho. A zeólita preparada utilizando o agente polimérico apresentou uma morfologia tipo nanoesponja com poros de diâmetro elevado. Utilizando o agente direcionador de estrutura C22-6-6 com adição de agente nucleante originou uma zeólita de morfologia tipo nanoesponja, composta por uma rede desordenada tridimensional de camadas MFI com espessura de 2,5nm suportando umas as outras. Com o mesmo agente direcionar, preparou-se uma zeólita de morfologia unilamelar e um material sem adição de alumínio, denominado nanossilicato. Este último material foi submetido a três métodos pós-síntese para modificação da superfície, visando o aumento de acidez. O desempenho catalítico das zeólitas MFI hierárquica e convencional foi investigado na eterificação de glicerol com álcool terc-butílico em fase líquida e na desidratação da frutose em várias condições: fase aquosa, fase orgânica e extração in situ da fase aquosa. As zeólitas hierárquicas foram mais ativas do que as amostras microporosas em ambas as reações, o que pode ser atribuído aos sítios ácidos localizados nas superfícies externas, acessíveis para os reagentes volumosos. A maior seletividade para 5-hidroximetilfurfural foi obtida com nanossilicatos modificados utilizando extração in situ. / Hierarchical zeolites possessing MFI framework type were hydrothermally prepared using surfactants as structure-directing agents consisting of quaternary ammonium groups prepared in this work. The zeolite prepared using polymeric structure-directing agent presented a nanosponge-like morphology with larger pores. The structure-directing agent C22-6-6 was used to prepare materials with different morphologies. Using the seed-assisted synthesis method, a nanosponge-like morphology was obtained. This zeolite was composed of a three-dimensional disordered network of MFI layers with 2.5nm thickness supporting each other. Furthermore, a unilamelar nanosheet zeolite was also prepared, as well as a material without aluminum, called nanosilicate. This last one was submitted to three post synthesis methods for surface modification in order to increase acidity. Catalytic performance of the MFI zeolites, both hierarchical and conventional, was investigated in glycerol etherification with tert-butyl alcohol in liquid phase, and in fructose dehydration in various conditions: aquous phase, organic phase and in situ extraction. Hierarchical zeolites were more active than conventional samples in both reactions, which can be attributed to the acid sites located on the external surfaces accessible for the reaction of bulky reactants. The highest selectivity to 5-hydroxymethyfurfural were obtained with modified nanosilicates and in in situ extraction.

The mesoporous materials Al-MCM-41 produced from kaolin, low cost raw material, by means of hydrothermal acid treatment route, has shown potential for being used as adsorbent in removal process of methylene blue. The process of synthesis of Al-MCM-41 is based on calcination of kaolin, dealumination by acid treatment, hydrothermal synthesis and extraction of the surfactant. The characterization of de obtained mesoporous material was carried out by techniques such as: X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy in the infrared, 29Si and 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance in the solid state, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and N2 adsorption/desorption. The X-ray diffraction at low angles allowed the determination of the cell parameter, which was 4.02 nm. The analyses of scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed important morphological properties of the synthesized material. N2 adsorption/desorption showed a BET specific surface area of 1,303 m2 g-1, pore volume of 1.23 cm3 g-1 and average diameter of 2.45 nm. PZC measurements showed a pHPZC of 2.69. The adsorption of methylene blue by Al-MCM-41 adsorbent showed high kinetic and high adsorption capacity, with values around 316 mg g-1. / O material mesoporoso Al-MCM-41 produzido a partir de caulim, matÃria-prima de baixo custo, por meio de rota hidrotÃrmica com tratamento Ãcido, mostrou-se promissor para ser usado como adsorvente do corante azul de metileno. O processo de sÃntese da Al-MCM-41 Ã baseado na calcinaÃÃo do caulim, desaluminizaÃÃo por tratamento Ãcido, sÃntese hidrotÃrmica e eliminaÃÃo do surfactante. A caracterizaÃÃo do material mesoporoso foi realizada por meio de tÃcnicas como: difraÃÃo de raios-X, espectroscopia vibracional na regiÃo do infravermelho, ressonÃncia magnÃtica nuclear no estado sÃlido de 29Si e 27Al, microscopia eletrÃnica de varredura, microscopia eletrÃnica de transmissÃo e adsorÃÃo de N2. A anÃlise de difraÃÃo de raios-X em baixo Ãngulo da Al-MCM-41 permitiu a determinaÃÃo do parÃmetro de cÃlula que apresentou valor de 4,02 nm. As anÃlises de microscopia eletrÃnica de varredura e de transmissÃo revelaram importantes propriedades morfolÃgicas do material sintetizado. Utilizando as medidas de adsorÃÃo e desorÃÃo de gÃs N2 a Ãrea superficial especÃfica BET da Al-MCM-41 apresentou valor 1.303 m2 g-1, com um volume de poros de 1,23 cm3 g-1 e diÃmetro mÃdio de 2,45 nm. O teste do PZC determinou um pHPZC de 2,69. Os testes de adsorÃÃo do azul de metileno pelo adsorvente Al-MCM-41 mostraram que o mesmo apresenta alta capacidade de adsorÃÃo com valores em torno de 316 mg g-1.

Three-dimensional porous single crystals (PSCs) are a recent development in the growing world of mesoporous material. The mesoporosity allows for the material to retain their nanoproperties whilst being bulk in size. The current work concentrates on chromium oxide and cobalt oxide PSCs formed in the templates SBA-15 and KIT-6. HRTEM is the main technique used in this investigation, looking at the morphology and single crystallinity of these materials. A growth mechanism for the PSC material is proposed based on HRTEM observations. XRD studies revealed that the confinement effect, caused by the mesopores, reduces the temperature for both cobalt and chromium oxide crystallisation, as well as a different intermediate route from the metal nitrates. The properties of chromium oxide PSC are also investigated magnetically and catalytically. Some metal oxides in different templates are also presented, despite no PSC forming. HRTEM work on other nanomaterials, based on collaboration, is also presented.