Phase transition of mesoporous SiO2 impregnated with an organic templating agent by post-synthetic microwave heating

Mesoporous silica SBA-15 samples were subjected to microwave heating for 10-40 min at 393 and 443 K after dry-impregnation with TPAOH (tetrapropylammonium hydroxide) to prepare a mesoporous material with zeolytically ordered pore walls. Physicochemical properties of the materials prepared were characterized by XRD, N-2 adsorption at 77 K, SEM, TEM, UV-vis and FT-IR spectroscopies. These investigations revealed that selective transformation of amorphous pore walls of SBA-15 to crystalline zeolytic phase is difficult to be achieved and a mixed phase of mesoporous silica/zeolite composite material was obtained, instead. Microwave heating time, temperature, TPAOH concentration, and hydrothermal stability of the mesoporous host materials tested (MCM-41, HMS, and SBA-15) were important factors to maintain the mesopore structure of the host materials during the post-synthetic microwave heating treatment.