Thermogravimetry applied to characterization of fly ash-based MCM-41 mesoporous materials

The thermogravimetry (TG) was used for characterization of the fly ash (FA)-based MCM-41 mesoporous materials. MCM-41 mesoporous materials were synthesized using silica extracts from different FA. The synthesis of MCM-41 from FA was carried out by the hydrothermal method using the supernatants of coal FA (in the form of sodium silicate) and cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactants as the structure-directing agents. On the basis of the data obtained from the TG analysis, thermal behaviour of FA-based MCM-41 mesoporous materials was assessed. This study has established the range of temperatures corresponding to the desorption of water, decomposition of the surfactant and condensation of silanol, thereby making the overall quality assessment of FA-based MCM-41 mesoporous materials.