Synthesis of a new solid acid: silica pillared lanthanum niobate with a supergallery

Abstract

Stepwise intercalations of n-decylamine and oligosiloxanes followed by calcination at 823 K in air results in a thermostable supergallery layered lanthanum niobate; the new material shows an interlayer free spacing of 17.4 Å along with a high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 251 m ² g ^{- 1} ; the acidity of the new pillared material is markedly enhanced with respect to the original lanthanum niobate.