caa a22 4500 463234758 CHVBK 20180405153253.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170326e20070801xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10853-006-0970-2 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10853-006-0970-2 Beach sand from Cancun Mexico: a natural macro- and mesoporous material [Elektronische Daten] [Hui Chen, Jinhai Wang, Zia ur Rahman, James Worden, Xiong Liu, Qiu Dai, Qun Huo] Sand particles from Cancun, Mexico were studied using a number of advanced spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The main chemical composition of sand particles was confirmed to be calcium carbonate by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and IR spectroscopic analysis. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the sand particles are aragonite, which has an Orthorhombic—Dipyramidal crystal structure. The morphological study of the sand particles by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of a highly porous channel-like structure in the sand particles. The sorption isotherm indicates that Cancun sand is a mesoporous material. The specific surface area of Cancun sand was determined to be 2.259m2/g by BET measurement, which is significantly higher than that of Florida sand and other forms of natural aragonite and calcite. Furthermore, it was found that the porous sand particles can adsorb gold nanoparticles of the size of a few nanometers very efficiently. The distribution of gold nanoparticles demonstrated a channel-like porous inner structure of the sand particles. We also prepared a polymer composite material by mixing the sand particles with a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix. SEM analysis of the composite materials showed a good interfacial adhesion between sand particles and polymer matrix. These results suggest that Cancun sand, as a natural macro- and mesoporous material, may find promising applications in filtration, pollution control, composite materials and biomaterials development. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2007 Chen Hui Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut Wang Jinhai Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut ur Rahman Zia Materials Characterization Facility, Advanced Materials Processing & Analysis Center (AMPAC), University of Central Florida, 12443 Research Pkwy Suite 304, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut Worden James Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut Liu Xiong Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut Dai Qiu Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut Huo Qun Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut Journal of Materials Science Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers; http://www.springer-ny.com 42/15(2007-08-01), 6018-6026 0022-2461 42:15<6018 2007 42 10853 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-0970-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-0970-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Chen Hui Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Wang Jinhai Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- ur Rahman Zia Materials Characterization Facility, Advanced Materials Processing & Analysis Center (AMPAC), University of Central Florida, 12443 Research Pkwy Suite 304, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Worden James Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Liu Xiong Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Dai Qiu Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Huo Qun Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mechanical Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 400, 32826, Orlando, FL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Materials Science Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers; http://www.springer-ny.com 42/15(2007-08-01), 6018-6026 0022-2461 42:15<6018 2007 42 10853 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer