Method to create a hydrophilic environment within hydrophobic nanostructures

Nancy Brodie-Linder (1) , Johnny Deschamps (2) , Fabrice Audonnet (3) , Christiane Alba-Simionesco (1)

1 LLB - UMR 12 - Laboratoire Léon Brillouin
2 UCP - Unité de Chimie et Procédés
3 IP - Institut Pascal

A novel and unusual method for loading an aqueous solution of Cu II into hydrophobic MCM-41 materials under high pressure up to 400 MPa is described. The aquated Cu II species are retained in the pores creating a hydrophilic environment within a hydrophobic one. IR spectroscopy demonstrates the retention of water within the nanopores and TEM imaging illustrates the presence of the Cu II species. The modification of the N2 adsorption isotherm from a type IV to a pseudo type I indicates that the structure within the hydrophobic pore is modified by the presence of the Cu II aquated species. This unusual method demonstrates how an aqueous environment surrounded by a hydrophobic one can be created using pressure and a metal salt on the nanoscale.

Domaines: Chimie; Physique [physics]

Nancy Brodie-Linder, Johnny Deschamps, Fabrice Audonnet, Christiane Alba-Simionesco. Method to create a hydrophilic environment within hydrophobic nanostructures. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2013, 179, pp.17. ⟨10.1016/j.micromeso.2013.05.014⟩. ⟨hal-01214602⟩