Kinetic study of MCM-41 synthesis

A kinetic study of MCM-41-type materials formation has been made to optimize the synthesis conditions in particular the synthesis time and temperature. The changes in morphology and textural properties of materials as a function of hydrothermal synthesis time at four different temperatures have been followed. From the characterization results, the synthesis mechanism is postulated. The present work shows clearly that the thickness of the wall separating two adjacent pores increases with hydrothermal synthesis time and temperature while pore size remains constant. The increase in the wall thickness, indicating the enhancement of polycondensation of silica around the micelles of surfactant, should be very important for strengthening the thermal stability of MCM-41 materials. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.