Sol-gel synthesis of methyl-modified mesoporous materials with dual porosity

Abstract Methyl-modified silica materials with dual mesopore size distribution have been successfully obtained by co-condensation of methyltriethoxysilane and tetraethylorthosilicate via sol-gel method. Non-ionic surfactant, alkyl polyethylene oxide CH3(CH2)12(EO)9, is used as the structure-directing agent, which can be easily removed by solvent extraction. The materials thus obtained exhibit two kinds of mesopores: framework mesopore and textural mesopore with mean pore sizes of about 2.2 and 12 nm, respectively. The presence of methyl groups in the framework is proved by FT-IR, TGA and 29Si MAS NMR measurements. The effect of the methyl groups on adsorption properties for water and benzene has also been investigated in the present work.