Direct synthesis of sulfonic acid-functionalized periodic mesoporous benzene-silicas with large pores

Periodic mesoporous benzene-silicas containing sulfonic acid groups were directly synthesized by the co-condensation of 1,4-bis (triethoxysilyl) benzene organosilica precursor and 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MeO)(3)Si(CH2)(3)SH in the presence of H2O2 using non-ionic block copolymer templates such as a Pluronic P123 (EO20PO70EO20) and poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(DL-lactic acid- co-glycolic acid)-poly(ethylene oxide) (EO16(L(29)G(7))EO16) under low acidic conditions. The sulfonic acid functional groups (-SO3H) were generated in situ by the oxidation of the propylthiol using H2O2 as an oxidant during the sol-gel synthetic process, which was observed by FT-IR and solid-state C-13 NMR spectroscopy. Well-defined 2D hexagonal (p6mm) mesostructures were also observed using BET, TEM, and SAXS measurements. The sulfonated mesoporous benzene-silicas prepared in this study also exhibit spherical macrostructures with diameters of 2-5 mu m. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.