Template-directed flower-like lactose with micro-meso-macroporous structure

Publication date: 5 March 2017
Source:Materials & Design, Volume 117
Author(s): Songwen Tan, Amirali Ebrahimi, Timothy Langrish
The fabrication of porous materials with multiple physical, chemical and biological properties has been an emerging topic in recent years. In this work, we propose a method using a spray drying and templating technique to fabricate a micro-meso-macroporous lactose material with a flower-like shape. The flower-like lactose has a large surface area of 25m²/g and a high pore volume of 0.31cm³/g. BJH analysis from the N2 adsorption isotherm shows significant pore distributions with peaks at 1.4, 2.2, 6.5 and 17.5nm (diameter). The mechanism of pore-structure formation has been probed by two analysis techniques, including confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) and focused ion beam (FIB) etching. As the porous flower-like lactose is a food-grade material, this work may offer new applications in food and pharmaceutical fields where the micropores and macropores are both beneficial.

Graphical abstract

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