Menger sponge-like fractal body created by a novel template method

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Fractal materials offer unique properties due to their complex structures.
• Controlling the fractal dimension is crucial for tailoring material performance.
• Existing methods for creating fractal porous materials are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an experimental strategy for creating Menger sponge-like fractal bodies.
• To control the fractal dimension of synthesized silica materials.
• To explore the fractal geometries of the created materials.

Main Methods:

• Utilized alkylketene dimer (AKD) to form super-water-repellent fractal surfaces.
• Prepared fractal AKD particles as templates for pore structures.
• Synthesized silica bodies via sol-gel process using AKD templates, followed by calcination.

Main Results:

• Successfully created silica fractal bodies with controllable cross-sectional fractal dimensions (D(cs)=1.87, 1.84, 1.80).
• Achieved systematic control by adjusting the compression ratio of fractal template particles.
• Demonstrated fractal geometries closely resembling Menger sponges and modified versions.

Conclusions:

• Established an effective experimental strategy for designing fractality in porous materials.
• The method allows for systematic creation of fractal bodies with tunable dimensions.
• The synthesized materials show potential for applications requiring controlled porosity and surface area.