Publications Details
(129)Xe NMR of Mesoporous Silicas
The porosities of three mesoporous silica materials were characterized with {sup 129}Xe NMR spectroscopy. The materials were synthesized by a sol-gel process with r = 0, 25, and 70% methanol by weight in an aqueous cetyltrimethylammonium bromide solution. Temperature dependent chemical shifts and spin lattice relaxation times reveal that xenon does not penetrate the pores of the largely disordered (r= 70%) silica. For both r = 0 and 25%, temperature dependent resonances corresponding to physisorbed xenon were observed. An additional resonance for the r = 25% sample was attributed to xenon between the disordered cylindrical pores. 2D NMR exchange experiments corroborate the spin lattice relaxation data which show that xenon is in rapid exchange between the adsorbed and the gas phase.