Ordered mesoporous silica: microwave synthesis

Ordered mesoporous silicas, FDU-1, synthesized by using triblock copolymer, EO39BO47EO39, as template were hydrothermally treated in a microwave oven at 373 K for different periods of time. The structural and morphological properties of these silicas were investigated by X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption and compared with those for the FDU-1 samples prepared by conventional hydrothermal treatment at 373 K. All samples were calcined at 813 K in N2 and air. This procedure succeeded in producing ordered cage-like mesoporous structures even after 15 min of the microwave treatment. The best sample was obtained after 60 min of the microwave treatment, which is reflected by narrow pore size distribution, uniform pore size entrances and thick mesopore walls. Longer time of the microwave treatment increased nonuniformity of the pore entrance sizes as evidenced by changes in the hysteresis loops of nitrogen adsorption isotherms.