Macroporous silica-alumina composites with mesoporous walls

Macroporous silica-alumina composites with mesopores have been prepared by employing polymethylmethacrylate beads as templates in the presence of the cationic surfactant, N-cetyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide. The Si/Al ratio in the composites has been varied between 4.5 and 48 and the occurrence of mesopores has been verified by X-ray diffraction. The surface areas of the samples vary between 676 and 1038 m2 g−1, with the highest value in the sample with Si/Al = 48.