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Tailoring pore structures and morphologies of highly ordered cubic mesoporous silica prepared in mild conditions: the effects of reaction parameters

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Abstract

In this study, we report on a novel and reactive synthesis of highly ordered cubic mesoporous silica that is able to tailor different symmetries of pores and morphologies through a two-step procedure carried out in relatively low temperatures (20–60 °C) using a single type of surfactant. We systematically examined the effects of reaction parameters such as pH, times of hydrolysis and condensation, concentration of Pluronic F-127 surfactant, and aging temperature, by using characterization techniques such as small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), analysis of surface area and porosity by adsorption of N2 (BET isotherms), and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). Our investigations found that, at 20 °C, the shape of particles is sensitive to changes in surfactant concentration which means that it is possible to tune spherical to polyhedral particles by simply increasing the amount of surfactant. In addition, at low concentrations of F-127, the size of the particles is temperature-dependent, with an inversely proportional pattern of behavior. The protocol also enables the production of well-ordered pores, particularly with 3D-cubic symmetries Fm3̅m and Im3̅m, and some hexagonal, as well as to control the sizes of the pores.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and CAPES-PrInt, Finance Code 88881.311799/2018-01. The authors are also grateful to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—Brasil (CNPq)—Finance Code 420852/2018-2 and Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul—Brasil (FUNDECT-MS)—grants 036/2017 PPSUS-MS (59/300.074/2017) for providing financial support for undertaking this project. Finally, we are grateful to the Brazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory for conducting the electron microscopy analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Campo Grande, MS, 79070-900, Brazil

    Roberto Medeiros Silveira, Everton Rodrigues de Almeida & Marco Antonio Utrera Martines

  2. Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campus de Ponta Porã, Rodovia BR 463, Km 14 s/n, Ponta Porã, MS, 79900-000, Brazil

    Roberto Medeiros Silveira

  3. Laboratório Nacional de Nanotecnologia, C. P. 6192, Rua Giuseppe Maximo Scolfaro, 10000, Campinas, SP, 13083-100, Brazil

    Carlos Alberto Ospina

  4. Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, C. P. 510, Botucatu, SP, 18618-970, Brazil

    Gustavo Rocha de Castro

  5. Centre d’Elaboration de Matériaux et d’Etudes Structurales, Université de Toulouse, 29 rue Jeanne Marvig, BP 94347, 31055, Toulouse Cedex 4, France

    Marc Verelst

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  1. Roberto Medeiros Silveira
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Silveira, R.M., de Almeida, E.R., Ospina, C.A. et al. Tailoring pore structures and morphologies of highly ordered cubic mesoporous silica prepared in mild conditions: the effects of reaction parameters. J Aust Ceram Soc 57, 663–672 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41779-021-00570-9

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