Hybrid periodic mesoporous organosilicas

In this study we report the synthesis of a new class of materials called hybrid periodic mesoporous organosilicas (HPMOs). By coupling a silsesquioxane precursor through at least two chemical linkages to the mesopore walls of a pre-existing periodic mesoporous silica (PMS) or periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO). Many of the problems of a conventional PMO material can be avoided while ensuring efficient use of the bridging organic functional groups of the silsesquioxane. We demonstrate this concept for PMS by anchoring various silsesquioxanes, such as ethene and ethane silsesquioxanes, to the mesopore walls of the PMS. The addition of anchored silsesquioxane monolayers and multilayers to the mesopore walls also allows for the strict control of the diameter of the mesopore as well as the mesopore wall thickness in the final HPMO material. Additionally it is shown that having the silsesquioxane located solely on the surface of the mesopores in HPMOs gives increased chemical accessibility of the organic bridge-bonded moiety when compared with their PMO counterparts containing the bridge-bonded organic both on the surface and within the pore walls.