Synthesis of mesoporous ZnO/SBA-15 composite via sonochemical route

Highly dispersed nano-sized ZnO was prepared inside a mesoporous SBA-15 via sonochemical method. Wet impregnation process accompanied by this method gave rise to roughly 43 wt. zinc oxide which was loaded inside mesoporous silica as a host structure. The synthesised mesoporous SBA-15 and the impregnated ZnO were characterised, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen physisorption. Low angle XRD peaks confirmed long-range order of two-dimensional hexagonal symmetry of SBA-15 and also shifting of the peaks to higher angle for ZnO loaded samples. The size of ZnO cluster inside the channels was smaller than the one which detected by XRD. With increasing ZnO content in SBA-15, the relative pressure (P/P^o) position found by physisorption test was shifted towards higher pressure. Internal pore volume and surface area were reduced, but the pore diameter was increased.