A facile strategy to synthesize spherical SBA-15 silicas by the addition of poly(vinyl alcohol)

A facile strategy was presented in the syntheses of spherical SBA-15 silicas by adding small amounts of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to the synthesis system. It was found that the addition of the suitable amount of PVA facilitates the formation of spherical SBA-15 silicas and does not deteriorate the pore structure. By controlling the amount of PVA in the synthesis gel, SBA-15 silica spheres of uniform pore size around 20 nm could be facilely obtained. The surfaces were smooth and the dispersibility was good as observed by SEM. And the characterization results (XRD, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis) demonstrated the unchanged pore structure of as-synthesized SBA-15 silicas. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.