Synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica: determination of optimum conditions for template removal

Ordered mesoporous silica was synthesized by the sol-gel process using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as silica source and hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as structure directing agent. Post-synthesis surfactant removal was conducted by two techniques: calcination, with progressive increases in temperature up to 550 degrees C and solvent extraction using HCl /EtOH as extracting solution. In the last mentioned technique, a few experimental variables were changed such as the acid concentration, the volume of extracting solution, the reflux time and the solvent employed for washing. The samples were characterized by N-2 adsorption, FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. Both the synthesis technique used and the procedures to remove template lead to MCM-41 type material. Template extraction by calcination results in materials having a surface area of 1100 m(2)/g. On the other hand, extraction with HCl/EtOH leads to decreases in surface area, attributed to occlusion of the pores with organic material. In both cases, monitoring surfactant traces in the samples was performed using FTIR.