PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POROUS WALLED HOLLOW GLASS MICROSPHERES

Porous-walled hollow glass microspheres (PWHGMs) of a modified alkali borosilicate composition have been successfully fabricated by combining the technology of producing hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) with the knowledge associated with porous glasses. HGMs are first formed by a powder glass--flame process, which are then transformed to PWHGMs by heat treatment and subsequent treatment in acid. Pore diameter and pore volume are most influenced by heat treatment temperature. Pore diameter is increased by a factor of 10 when samples are heat treated prior to acid leaching; 100 {angstrom} in non-heat treated samples to 1000 {angstrom} in samples heat treated at 600 C for 8 hours. As heat treatment time is increased from 8 hours to 24 hours there is a slight shift increase in pore diameter and little or no change in pore volume