Mesoporous dendrimer silica monoliths studied by small-angle X-ray scattering

Abstract

Monolithic inorganic–organic hybrid materials have been synthesized via sol–gel processing of a novel ethylene glycol-modified carbosilane dendrimer precursor in an aqueous solution of the non-ionic block copolymer Pluronic P123. The influences of different precursor concentrations and various pH values on the final gel structure were investigated. The resulting material is built up of nanometer scale building units forming a network of three-dimensionally connected spherical clusters. The structure and chemical composition were characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy and MAS magnetic resonance spectroscopy. For precise structural information, analytical and numerical ab initio fitting of the small-angle X-ray scattering curves was used.