Bio-derived oleyl surfactants as porogens for the sustainable synthesis of micelle-templated mesoporous silica

There is a growing trend towards greener alternatives to the synthesis of materials through the use of renewable chemical resources. In this study, we report the utilization of plant-derived oleyl amine surfactants as porogens for the synthesis of mesoporous silicas in place of the usual alkyl amine surfactants. Oleyl-NH2 and oleyl-NH-(CH2)(3)NH2 derivatives are shown to be effective templating agents for the hydrogen bonded assembly of mesoporous silicas with well expressed wormhole and lamellar framework structures. Also, under appropriate reaction conditions these surfactants are capable of templating mesoporous silica with framework pore size within the supermicroporous range through solvent polarity modification.