POROUS GLASS MATERIAL

PURPOSE:To provide a porous glass material having improved separation characteristics, permeability, etc., by bonding plural kinds of ion exchange groups to a porous silicate glass material prepared by a phase separation- extraction method. CONSTITUTION:A glass material containing SiO2-B2O3-Na2O as an essential component is heated to separate into plural phases, and the separated phase is treated by an elution method, etc., to prepare a porous silicate glass material. The glass material is treated with a silane coupling agent (e.g. a compound of formula I or II) which reacts with silanol groups existing on the glass material and which has an ion exchange group, thereby bonding two kinds or more of the ion exchange groups to the glass material. The embodiments of the ion exchange groups include sulfonic acid group, carboxylic acid group and quaternary ammonium salt group. The prepared porous glass material is suitably used for ultrafiltration, gas separation, the carrier of membrane reactors, etc.