Investigation of the morphology of the mesoporous SBA-16 and SBA-15 materials

Wesley J J Stevens; Kurt Lebeau; Myrjam Mertens; Gustaaf Van Tendeloo; Pegie Cool; Etienne F Vansant

doi:10.1021/jp0548725

Investigation of the morphology of the mesoporous SBA-16 and SBA-15 materials

J Phys Chem B. 2006 May 11;110(18):9183-7. doi: 10.1021/jp0548725.

Authors

Wesley J J Stevens¹, Kurt Lebeau, Myrjam Mertens, Gustaaf Van Tendeloo, Pegie Cool, Etienne F Vansant

Affiliation

¹ Laboratory of Adsorption and Catalysis, University of Antwerpen (CDE), Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium. wesley.stevens@ua.ac.be

PMID: 16671732
DOI: 10.1021/jp0548725

Abstract

Mesoporous SBA-16 and SBA-15 were studied in order to control their possible morphologies. SBA-16 is synthesized using a silicon source (tetraethoxysilane, TEOS) and a ternary system consisting of surfactant F127 (EO106PO70EO106), water, and butanol. The same ternary system, with higher butanol concentration, is used to form SBA-15 material as well. An increase of the TEOS concentration results in a morphology shift of SBA-16 from micron-sized spheres, over randomly shaped aggregated particles, to macrospheres with a size of 15 mm. An identical increase in TEOS concentration also results in the formation of SBA-15 macrospheres, which can be controlled in size. Micron-sized spheres of SBA-15 were formed using a quaternary system of surfactant P123 (EO20PO70EO20), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), ethanol, and water. All mesoporous silica materials were characterized using SEM, XRD, and N2 sorption techniques.