Encapsulation of nanoclusters in dried gel materials via an inverse micelle/sol gel synthesis

Patent · Wed Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:871868

Martino, Anthony ^[1]; Yamanaka, Stacey A ^[2]; Kawola, Jeffrey S ^[1]; Showalter, Steven K ^[1]; Loy, Douglas A ^[1]

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1. Albuquerque, NM
2. Dallas, TX

A dried gel material sterically entrapping nanoclusters of a catalytically active material and a process to make the material via an inverse micelle/sol-gel synthesis. A surfactant is mixed with an apolar solvent to form an inverse micelle solution. A salt of a catalytically active material, such as gold chloride, is added along with a silica gel precursor to the solution to form a mixture. To the mixture are then added a reducing agent for the purpose of reducing the gold in the gold chloride to atomic gold to form the nanoclusters and a condensing agent to form the gel which sterically entraps the nanoclusters. The nanoclusters are normally in the average size range of from 5-10 nm in diameter with a monodisperse size distribution.

• Research Organization: SANDIA CORP
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• Assignee: Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM)
• Patent Number(s): US 5814370
• OSTI ID: 871868
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/427/428/523/
5-10
active
active material
added
agent
apolar
atomic
average
average size
catalytically
catalytically active
chloride
condensing
diameter
distribution
dried
encapsulation
entrapping
entraps
form
gold
inverse
inverse micelle
material
material via
materials
materials via
micelle
micelle sol
mixed
mixture
monodisperse
nanoclusters
nm
normally
polar solvent
precursor
process
purpose
range
reducing
reducing agent
salt
silica
size
size distribution
size range
sol
sol-gel
solution
solvent
sterically
surfactant
synthesis
via