Permeability of silica monoliths containing micro- and nano-pores

Fletcher, Paul D. I.; Haswell, Stephen J.; He, Ping; Kelly, Stephen M.; Mansfield, Andrew

Abstract

For applications as catalyst supports in flow reactors, porous silica monoliths require a combination of connected pores of micron-scale to enable fluid flow plus nm-scale pores to enable high catalyst area and activity. We have synthesised a range porous silica monoliths, characterised their micron and nm-scale pores and measured their permeability coefficients K. K can be controlled over the range 10-10 m, primarily by adjustment of the polymer/silane concentration ratio, whilst maintaining the specific surface area and nm-scale porosity approximately constant. For the majority of the silica monolith samples, the measured permeability coefficient K is 2-5 times smaller than K for a hypothetical reference system consisting of a monolith with uniform cylindrical pores aligned in the flow direction and with the same average pore diameter and volume fraction. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Citation

Fletcher, P. D. I., Haswell, S. J., He, P., Kelly, S. M., & Mansfield, A. (2011). Permeability of silica monoliths containing micro- and nano-pores. Journal of Porous Materials, 18(4), 501-508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-010-9403-3

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Aug 1, 2010
• Publication Date: 2011-08
• Journal: Journal of Porous Materials
• Print ISSN: 1380-2224
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 501-508
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-010-9403-3
• Keywords: Mechanical Engineering; General Materials Science; Mechanics of Materials
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/396245