Solid and colloidal particles via sonochemistry

日新月异的市场和应用要求采用既省时又廉价的合成路线来生产工程固体和胶体颗粒。长期目标是开发基于超声波(ULS)的技术来制造远距离材料，包括无机、有机、复合材料和杂化基质。我预计，通过调节局部温度和压力，以及超声波声空化产生的微观湍流，将微调固体和胶体颗粒的结构-形态特性，这些颗粒是无机、有机或混合的。子目标包括：i)液-固和气-固体系催化剂的超声化学合成，ii)超声化学溶胶-凝胶和水热合成杂化无机-有机骨架，iii)可食膜胶体颗粒的超声化学稳定。 I)合成具有相互连接的微孔和介孔网络、结合高比表面积和改善传质的体系是催化领域的主要挑战。溶胶-凝胶技术是合成这些体系的主要方法，通过这种技术，模板可以在3D结构中指导催化剂前体的聚合。我预计ULS将改善结构导向剂的插层，提高凝胶速度。对结果的解释将提供对ULS对这些机制的作用的理解，这在当前技术状态下是缺失的。 2)周期性介孔有机硅(PMOS)和金属有机骨架(MOF)是有机-无机杂化材料，具有多学科的内在联系，应用领域包括催化、燃料电池、气体储存、吸收剂、酶固定化、药物输送和成像。开发省时的合成方法对于它们在商业规模上的应用(尚未实现)至关重要。我将采用ULS来缩短凝胶时间来制造PMO和MOF，从而取代可能需要数天时间的慢扩散合成方法，如水热法。 Iii)将多糖和蛋白质与疏水材料或聚合物在低浓度下结合，可产生结合了O2、CO2和改善了H2O阻隔性能的乳液型可食用多层膜。实现稳定的分散是目前制造靶向结构的挑战，同时保证薄膜的机械强度。我预计，超声波产生的冲击波将改善极性和非极性分子在水中的分散，产生非常精细的乳状液。我们将量化ULS对含有疏水组分的亲水聚合物乳液性能的影响，并提出成功的合成策略。

Time-efficient and inexpensive synthetic routes to manufacture engineered solids and colloidal particles are required by the ever-changing market and applications. The long term objective is to develop ultrasound (ULS)-based techniques to manufacture far-ranging materials, including inorganic, organic, composite and hybrid matrices. I anticipate that modulating the local temperature and pressure, and micro-turbulence enacted by ultrasonic acoustic cavitation will fine-tune the structural-morphological properties of solid and colloidal particles, being these inorganic, organic or hybrid. The sub-objectives include: i) Sonochemical synthesis of catalysts for liquid-solid and gas-solid systems, ii) Sonochemical sol-gel and hydrothermal synthesis of hybrid inorganic-organic frameworks, iii) Sonochemical stabilization of colloidal particles for edible films. i) Synthesizing systems with a network of interconnected micro- and mesopores, combining high specific surface area and improved mass transfer is the major challenge in catalysis. The sol-gel technique, whereby a template directs the polymerization of the catalyst precursor in a 3D structure is the main method to synthesize these systems. I anticipate that ULS will improve the intercalation of the structure-directing agent and increase the gelation rate. The interpretation of the results will provide an understanding of the action of ULS on these mechanisms, which misses in the current state of the art. ii) Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are hybrid inorganic-organic materials with inherent multidisciplinarity bridging fields of application including catalysis, fuel cells, gas storage, absorbents, enzyme immobilization, drug delivery, and imaging. Developing time-efficient syntheses is crucial for their application at the commercial scale (not yet attained). I will adopt ULS to shorten the gelation time to manufacture both PMOs and MOFs, thus replacing slow diffusion syntheses, such as the hydrothermal method, which can take up to several days. iii) Combining polysaccharides and proteins with hydrophobic materials or polymers at low concentration produces emulsion-based edible multilayer films with combined O2, CO2, and improved H2O barrier properties. Achieving a stable dispersion is the current challenge to manufacture targeted structures and warrant at the same time the mechanical strength of the film. I anticipate that the ultrasonically generated shock waves will improve the dispersion of the polar and non-polar molecules in water creating a very fine emulsion. We will quantify the effect of ULS on the properties of the emulsions of the hydrophilic polymer with the hydrophobic component and propose successful synthesis strategies.