From Meso to Macro: Controlling Hierarchical Porosity in Supraparticle Powders

Sultan U, Götz A, Schlumberger C, Drobek D, Bleyer G, Walter T, Loewer E, Peuker UA, Thommes M, Spiecker E, Apeleo Zubiri B, Inayat A, Vogel N (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Small Wiley-VCH Verlag

DOI: 10.1002/smll.202300241

Abstract

A drying droplet containing colloidal particles can consolidate into a spherical assembly called a supraparticle. Such supraparticles are inherently porous due to the spaces between the constituent primary particles. Here, the emergent, hierarchical porosity in spray-dried supraparticles is tailored via three distinct strategies acting at different length scales. First, mesopores (<10 nm) are introduced via the primary particles. Second, the interstitial pores are tuned from the meso- (35 nm) to the macro scale (250 nm) by controlling the primary particle size. Third, defined macropores (>100 nm) are introduced via templating polymer particles, which can be selectively removed by calcination. Combining all three strategies creates hierarchical supraparticles with fully tailored pore size distributions. Moreover, another level of the hierarchy is added by fabricating supra-supraparticles, using the supraparticles themselves as building blocks, which provide additional pores with micrometer dimensions. The interconnectivity of the pore networks within all supraparticle types is investigated via detailed textural and tomographic analysis. This work provides a versatile toolbox for designing porous materials with precisely tunable, hierarchical porosity from the meso- (3 nm) to the macroscale (≈10 µm) that can be utilized for applications in catalysis, chromatography, or adsorption.

Authors with CRIS profile

Umair Sultan Sonderforschungsbereich 1411 Produktgestaltung disperser Systeme / Design of Particulate Products Alexander Götz Sonderforschungsbereich 1411 Produktgestaltung disperser Systeme / Design of Particulate Products Carola Schlumberger Lehrstuhl für Thermische Verfahrenstechnik Dominik Drobek Sonderforschungsbereich 1411 Produktgestaltung disperser Systeme / Design of Particulate Products Gudrun Bleyer Professur für Partikelsynthese Teresa Walter Professur für Partikelsynthese Matthias Thommes Lehrstuhl für Thermische Verfahrenstechnik Alexandra Inayat Lehrstuhl für Chemische Reaktionstechnik Nicolas Vogel Professur für Partikelsynthese

Related research project(s)

Support design for enhanced catalytic activity of SILP systems (B03) (SFB 1452 CLINT B03) Catalysis at Liquid Interfaces (CLINT) (SFB 1452 CLINT) Jan. 1, 2021 - Dec. 31, 2024

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Sultan, U., Götz, A., Schlumberger, C., Drobek, D., Bleyer, G., Walter, T.,... Vogel, N. (2023). From Meso to Macro: Controlling Hierarchical Porosity in Supraparticle Powders. Small. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smll.202300241

MLA:

Sultan, Umair, et al. "From Meso to Macro: Controlling Hierarchical Porosity in Supraparticle Powders." Small (2023).

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