Liu Jiawei, Du Guo, Chen Tiehong
Institute of New Catalytic Materials Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Smart Sensing Interdisciplinary Science Center, Nankai University & Cangzhou Bohai New Area Green Chemical Institute, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, PR China.
Langmuir. 2024 Jul 9;40(27):14016-14026. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c01338. Epub 2024 Jun 26.
Ordered mesoporous silica is widely used in catalysis, adsorption, and biomedicine, among which SBA-15 (Santa Barbara Amorphous-15) is one of the most widely studied. However, the synthesis of SBA-15 often requires strong acid (hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid), which will not only corrode industrial equipment but also pollute the environment with the wastewater containing strong acid and halogen (sulfur). Here, we demonstrate a green synthetic strategy for SBA-15 under weakly acidic conditions through an anionic assembly route. With the assistance of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APMS), the pH value of the synthesis system can be increased to 4-5, which is a mild near-neutral condition. In addition, halogen-free synthesis using organic acids is also achieved. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N sorption characterizations show that the obtained SBA-15 has good texture properties, with a specific surface area of 430-500 m/g and ordered 6-8 nm mesopores, which is similar to SBA-15 synthesized in traditional strong acid. This strategy provides a facile and environmentally friendly route for the large-scale production of ordered mesoporous materials.
