Synthesis of monodispersed super-microporous/mesoporous silica spheres with diameters in the low submicron range

Monodispersed super-microporous/mesoporous silica spheres with particle diameters falling in the range 0.1-0.4 mu m were successfully synthesized from tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and n-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide. By using polyol, rather than methanol, as a co-solvent, the particle diameters were reduced. Moreover, the addition of a polymer contributed to the decrease in particle diameter. It was assumed that the increased solution viscosity led to a higher generation of primary particles, resulting in smaller particle diameter. The adsorption properties of the samples were a specific surface area of 750-1100 m(2) g(-1) and a pore volume of 0.33-0.54 cm(3) g(-1). Furthermore, it was found that a colloidal crystal film fabricated from the monodispersed mesoporous silica spheres obtained using ethylene glycol as a co-solvent reflects light in the visible light region. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.