Novel synthesis of spherical MCM-48

A novel synthesis route was developed for the cubic member of the M41S family, MCM-48, with a three-dimensional pore system allowing the formation of submicrometre- to micrometre-sized beads with a narrow pore-size distribution. The synthesis is based on the modified Stober method applying tetraethoxysilane, ethanol, water, ammonia and n-hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide as template. The specific surface area, the specific pore volume and the average pore diameter were varied in the following ranges: 900-1600 m(2) g(-1), 0.5-0.9 cm(3) g(-1) and 2-3 nm. Aluminium-, chromium-, gallium-, niobium- and vanadium-MCM-48 were also synthesized following this procedure. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.