Salt-induced formation of uniform fiberlike SBA-15 mesoporous silica particles and application to toluene adsorption

Long, homogeneous fiberlike SBA-15 mesoporous silica particles are prepared by fine adjustment of three reaction conditions-stirring temperature, stirring time, and amount of inorganic salt added-using Pluronic P 123 and TEOS under acidic conditions. The addition of NaCl along with a short stirring time played an important role in controlling the morphology and pore characteristics. Dynamic adsorption performance for gaseous toluene was systematically evaluated using four types of materials with different morphologies and pore characteristics synthesized with the addition of a different amount of NaCl. Breakthrough curves showed that the longer the fiberlike structure, the longer the breakthrough time. Furthermore, it was found from the breakthrough times and the total amounts adsorbed that long particles with high microporosity offer effective adsorption performance and should be useful in applications such as toluene adsorption.