EFFECT OF INORGANIC HYBRID LiBr ON THE SILICA MATRIX XEROGELS (RESEARCH NOTE)

Abstract The SiO2-LiBr hybrid porous materials were prepared by the sol-gel method. This process was obtained by the hydrolysis and condensation Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) with replacement of ethanol from alcogel by the drying at ambient temperature to obtain xerogel structure. The alcogel samples were synthesized from TEOS, EtOH, H2O, HCl, NH4OH and LiBr. The total molar ratio of the compounds was 1: 9: 4: 8 x 10‾4, 8 x 10‾³ . Xerogel contain 30 % wt of LiBr (dry matter) was prepared and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Furier Transmittance Infra Red spectrum (FT IR), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Thermal Gravimetry Analysis (TGA ) systems . The results obtained from SEM and EDX were shown the micrograph of LiBr on the silica and chemical elemental analysis, respectively. On the other  hand, the TEM have confirmed average particle size of SiO2-LiBr about 50 nm and FT IR spectrum describes functional groups of nanocomposite. The thermal analysis of SiO2-LiBr nanocomposite was performed using TGA system and the results show that the suitable temperature for initial thermal treatment is about 200°C.