Synthesis of hybrid mesoporous polystyrene-silica materials with non-surfactant citric acid as template via sol-gel process

Hybrid mesoporous polystyrene-silica materials were successfully prepared through HCl-catalyzed sol-gel reactions of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and triethoxysilyl-functionalized polystyrene obtained via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene, in the presence of citric acid (CA) as non-surfactant template or pore-forming agent and followed by ethanol extraction to remove template molecules. The materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy OR), N-2 adsorption-desorption measurements, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the materials prepared with 50 wt%-60 wt% template contents have average pore sizes of 2-3 nm and large surface areas (ca. 886 m(2)/g) as well as high pore volumes (ca. 0.53 cm(3)/g). The mesoporosity arises from interconnected channels and pores with disordered arrangements. The pore diameters and pore volumes increase as the template content is increased. The pore diameters show a little change upon heating at 200degreesC overnight. However, the materials do not have good hydrothermal stability.