Ionothermal synthesis of phase pure AlPO4-5 using a series of tri-substituted imidazolium bromides

The ionothermal synthesis of phase pure AlPO4-5 was achieved using a series of tri-substituted imidazolium bromides (1-ethyl-, 1-butyl- and 1-hexy1-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bromides [EMMIMBr, BMMIMBr and HMMIMBr]). C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements revealed that the cations of the ionic liquids were incorporated into the final structures. It was also found that the morphologies of the samples varied with the types of IL used. The possible reason for the different morphologies was that the decreasing charge density gradually weakened the interaction between the AlPO4-AFI framework and the IL cation, with an increase in the alkyl chain length. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.