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Introduction
Even for experts in the synthesis and characterization of mesoporous materials, visualizing the 3-dimensional structure of bicontinuous pore structures can be challenging. The Ia3d cubic bicontinuous ("gyroid") pore structure is particularly difficult to conceptualize because it contains a pair of intertwined pore networks. This complexity presents two problems: truly understanding the nature of the materials, and interpreting 2D projections of the structure in electron microscopy.
On the following pages, we present images and projections of computer models of idealized Ia3d cubic and Im3m (body-centered cubic) silica. These are intended to enrich the understanding of students trying to understand the actual nature of these materials and researchers trying to interpret their data. The following pages will describe the available files, and how to use freely aviailable software for 3D visualization of the materials. The image below is a stereo pair image of the unit cell of the Ia3d cubic pore structure. It is meant to be viewed by focusing into the distance until the two images merge into one image at the center between the two individual images. For more information and help on viewing parallel stereo pairs, see vision3d.com .
Even for experts in the synthesis and characterization of mesoporous materials, visualizing the 3-dimensional structure of bicontinuous pore structures can be challenging. The Ia3d cubic bicontinuous ("gyroid") pore structure is particularly difficult to conceptualize because it contains a pair of intertwined pore networks. This complexity presents two problems: truly understanding the nature of the materials, and interpreting 2D projections of the structure in electron microscopy.
On the following pages, we present images and projections of computer models of idealized Ia3d cubic and Im3m (body-centered cubic) silica. These are intended to enrich the understanding of students trying to understand the actual nature of these materials and researchers trying to interpret their data. The following pages will describe the available files, and how to use freely aviailable software for 3D visualization of the materials. The image below is a stereo pair image of the unit cell of the Ia3d cubic pore structure. It is meant to be viewed by focusing into the distance until the two images merge into one image at the center between the two individual images. For more information and help on viewing parallel stereo pairs, see vision3d.com .
