Hybrid Materials and Periodic Mesoporous Organosilicas Containing Covalently Bonded Organic Anion and Cation Featuring MCM-41 and SBA-15 Structure

We report the synthesis of a new trialkoxysilylated ionic liquid based on disilylated guanidinium and monosilylated sulfonimide species. This compound allowed the successful preparation of new periodic mesoporous organosilicas containing covalently anchored ion-pair through both organo-cationic and organo-anionic moieties which have never been reported up to now. Two classes of hybrid materials containing guanidinium-sulfonimide ion-pairs (IPs) have been synthesized. The first type of material was prepared by grafting the silylated IP onto both MCM-41-type and SBA-15-type silicas according to a surface sol-gel polymerization. The second class was synthesized following a one-pot sol-gel procedure using silylated IP and tetraethoxysilane as framework precursors. These latter materials correspond to so-called periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) and gave organo-ionically modified MCM-41 and SBA-15 related solids. The materials were characterized by a series of techniques including XRD, nitrogen sorption, solid-state NMR, FTIR, transmission electronic microscopy, and elemental analysis. The highest structural regularity in terms of pore size distribution and channel size homogeneity was observed for IP-PMOs possessing SBA-15-type architecture due to an enhanced trialkoxysilylated IP precursor/surfactant interaction. Solvatochromic experiments with Reichardt's dye showed good accessibility of the silica-supported ion-pair and suggested the formation of monophasic materials.