Preparation of mesostructured barium sulfate with high surface area by dispersion method and its characterization

The spherical and cubic mesoporous BaSO₄ particles with high surface area were successfully produced via one-step process through precipitation reaction in aqueous solution of Ba(OH)₂ and H₂SO₄ with ethylene glycol (n-HOCH₂CH₂OH) as a modifying agent. The BaSO₄ nanomaterial revealed that the high surface area and the mesoporous was stable up to 400 °C. Agglomerate mesoporous barium sulfate nanomaterials were obtained by the reaction of Ba²⁺ and SO^2-₄ with ethylene glycol aqueous solution. The ethylene glycol was used to control the BaSO₄ particle size and to modify the surface property of the particles produced from the precipitation. The dried and calcined mesoporous BaSO₄ nanomaterials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherm, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared resonance (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The as-prepared mesoporous dried BaSO₄ possesses a high BET surface area of 91.56 m² g^-1, pore volume of 0.188 cm³ g^-1 (P / P⁰ = 0.9849) and pore size of 8.22 nm. The SEM indicates that the morphology of BaSO₄ nanomaterial shows shell like particles up to 400 °C, after that there is drastically change in the material due to agglomeration. Synthesis of mesoporous BaSO₄ nanomaterial is of significant importance for both sulphuric acid decomposition and oxidation of methane to methanol.