Sol-gel synthesis and structure of silica hybrid materials

In this work the research results on the sol-gel synthesis and structure of silica nanocomposites, containing carrageenan and their application as carriers for cell immobilization were described. The samples were prepared at room temperature by replacing different quantity of the inorganic precursor with kappa-carrageenan. For studying the structure of the synthesized hybrids the following methods were used: FT-IR, XRD, BET-Analysis, SEM, AFM and Roughness Analysis. The influence of the type of silicon precursors, nature and quantity of organic component on the structure, surface area, design and size of nanostructures was established. The possibility of application of the synthesized biocatalysts in an enzyme degradation process of the toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic substances benzonitrile, fumaronitrile, o-, m-, and p-tolunitriles was investigated at batch experiments. A two-step biodegradation process in a column bioreactor of fumaronitrile was followed. After operation of the system for 8 h at a flow rate 45 mL h(-1) and at 60 degrees C, the overall conversion was 89%, showing a good stability of the developed process.