Synthesis of nanoporous Al2O3 membranes from polybutyl methacrylate functionalized SiO2 particles as a sacrificial template.

SiO2 surface is first modified with 3-trimethoxysilyl propyl methacrylate (MPS) in order to graft with polymerized butyl methacrylate (BMA) to form SiO2@MPS-BMA core--shell hybrid particles. The polymeric BMA shell enables anchoring of aluminum ions in tetrachloroethylene solvent, results in SiO2 @Al2O3 composite particles upon subjected to calcination. Removal of the SiO2 core by acid etching forms nanoporous gamma-Al2O3 membrane with a Horvath-Kawazoe (HK) pore size of 1.4 nm and a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 78.6 m2 x g(-1). Transmission electron microscopy reveals formation of interconnected pore channels in the membrane. It is interesting to note that the Al2O3 membrane remains at a reasonably high surface area (53.9 m2 x g(-1)) after an isothermal holding at 1200 degrees C, when gamma-Al2O3 changed into predominately alpha-Al2O3. The process is indeed general and can be extended to the synthesis of other inorganic porous solids.