Synthesis and characterization of mono-dispersed mesoporous spheres

In the presence of a high TMOS concentration, mono-dispersed mesoporous pure silica spheres with different pore sizes were successfully synthesized using C(16)TMACl, C(14)TMACl, and C(12)TMACl as templates in a methanol-water system, whereas they could not be obtained using C(10)TMACl. The standard deviation of the particle size prepared with high TMOS concentrations was approximately 10%. Mono-dispersed mesoporous Al-containing spheres could also be synthesized using NaAlO2 as an aluminum source from starting synthesis mixtures with a TMOS/Al ratio of more than 10, but not with a TMOS/Al ratio of less than 8. It was found that the particle size and standard deviation of mono-dispersed mesoporous aluminum-containing spheres depended on the TMOS/Al ratio.