Effective method for removal of polymeric template from SBA-16 silica combining extraction and temperature-controlled calcination

Abstract

An effective method for the removal of polymeric template, which combines extraction and temperature-controlled calcination, is proposed to obtain high pore volume and large pore size ordered mesoporous silicas, SBA-16 (Im3m symmetry group), synthesized in the presence of sodium chloride at low acid concentrations using poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (Pluronic F127) as a structure directing agent and tetraethylorthosilicate as a silica source. The aforementioned materials were characterized by small angle X-ray powder diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, high resolution thermogravimetry and elemental analysis.