Evolution of Silica Walls of Nanopores Filled with Water and Ions

In the present study, we have characterized the evolution of hexagonal mesoporous silica having 5 nm pore size (SBA15 type) at 50 °C in water and in 0.2 M XCl2 aqueous solutions, where X are different ions (X = Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, Ba2+), by in-situ Small Angle X-ray Scattering. The results allowed determination of the dissolution rates of the confining media, i.e. the silica, and water diffusion through the microporous silica wall as a function of the aqueous solution composition.