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F-KJEM-Naturvitenskap, kjemi

The phase behaviour and dynamics of organic nanocrystals studied by NMR

Awarded: NOK 1.3 mill.

About ten years ago scientists began to learn how mesoporous materials with controlled and uniform pore size could be tailor-made, the so-called M41S and FSM-16 materials. These materials possess regular hexagonal or cubic arrays of uniform channels betwe en approximately 16 and 100 <.zeta.> in diameter. The size of the crystallites varies from less than 1 microm to over 10 microm. However, unlike the zeolites, the mesoporous materials have amorphous pore walls and the relatively large pore dimensions allo w processing of considerably larger molecules. The preparation technique requires an expertise within hydrothermal synthesis and surfactant chemistry, available at Sintef, Oslo, and the University of Bergen. The principal objective of the present project is to increase the knowledge of crystalline mesoporous materials, including composite samples and chemically modified M41S samples, by studying the behaviour of model organic compounds in confinement, i.e., i n nanocrystal form using NMR. We will monitor changes in the phase diagrams and observe the modifications to the translational and rotational motions caused by the confined geometry. The effect of pore dimension and pore surface hydrophobicity on the moti on of the confined molecules will be investi gated. The project should lead to a Dr.scient. degree by June

Funding scheme:

F-KJEM-Naturvitenskap, kjemi

Thematic Areas and Topics

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