Preparation and characterization of silica-carbon hybrids Original Research Article

Silica-carbon (SC) hybrids of varying composition have been prepared by a cyclic two-step process which consisted of: (1) initially adsorbing silicon tetrachloride onto the surface of porous carbon particles, and (2) converting silicon tetrachloride into silica via reaction with water vapor. At the completion of each cycle all samples were studied by thermogravimetric analysis and 29Si CP-MAS NMR spectrometry in order to determine the amount of deposited silica and to characterize their surface and structural properties. Further, the adsorption capacities of the SC hybrids were measured chromatographically.