Methods and devices using a shrinkable support for porous monolithic materials
First Claim
1. An article comprising a porous inorganic substrate contained in a support made from an inorganic material, wherein said porous substrate and support are heated to a temperature effective to shrink but not melt the support onto the porous substrate such that liquid tight contact is formed between the porous substrate and the support, wherein said temperature is near or above the softening temperature for the inorganic material, and wherein the temperature effective to shrink the support onto the porous substrate has no affect or only limited affect on the pore distribution of the porous substrate.
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Abstract
Articles of manufacture and devices and methods of forming and using the same are provided, wherein the article comprises a porous inorganic substrate contained in or bounded by a support made from an inorganic material are provided, wherein said porous substrate and support are heated to a temperature effective to shrink the support onto the porous substrate such that liquid tight contact is formed between the porous substrate and the support. In a preferred aspect, the porous inorganic substrate has a porosity of at least 5%, and is a porous monolith formed using a sol-gel method. The articles thus formed provide a confined fluid flow through the porous substrate, providing superior performance in separations, catalysis, filtration, and the like.
77 Citations
24 Claims
- 1. An article comprising a porous inorganic substrate contained in a support made from an inorganic material, wherein said porous substrate and support are heated to a temperature effective to shrink but not melt the support onto the porous substrate such that liquid tight contact is formed between the porous substrate and the support, wherein said temperature is near or above the softening temperature for the inorganic material, and wherein the temperature effective to shrink the support onto the porous substrate has no affect or only limited affect on the pore distribution of the porous substrate.
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12. A method of forming an article comprising a porous inorganic substrate in liquid tight contact with an inorganic support, comprising:
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a) assembling a porous inorganic substrate into a shrinkable support comprising an inorganic material, and b) shrinking the support onto the porous substrate by heating the article to a temperature that is effective to shrink but not melt the support onto the porous substrate, such that there is liquid tight contact between the porous substrate and the support, wherein said temperature is near or above the softening temperature for the inorganic material, and wherein the temperature effective to shrink the support onto the porous substrate has no affect or only limited affect on the pore distribution of the porous substrate. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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- 22. A chromatographic column comprising a porous inorganic monolith enclosed inside a glass tubing, the improvement comprising forming the porous inorganic monolith from a sol gel, calcining the porous inorganic monolith and assembling it into the glass tubing, and heating the assembly to shrink but not melt the glass tubing such that there is liquid tight contact between the porous inorganic monolith and the glass tubing wherein said heating is to near or above the softening temperature for the glass tubing, and wherein the temperature effective to shrink the glass tubing has no affect or only limited affect on the pore distribution of the porous inorganic monolith.
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24. A method for separating a mixture of analytes in a sample, said method comprising the steps of
a) providing a chromatographic column comprising a porous inorganic substrate enclosed inside a glass tubing, wherein the column has been heated to shrink but not melt the glass tubing such that a liquid tight contact is formed between the porous inorganic substrate and the glass tubing, wherein said heating is to near or above the softening temperature for the glass tubing, and wherein the temperature effective to shrink the glass tubing has no affect or only limited affect on the pore distribution of the porous inornanic substrate; -
b) applying the sample to the chromatographic column; c) eluting the chromatographic column with a mobile phase; and d) collecting the separated analytes eluting from the chromatographic column.
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Specification