Synthesis and characterization of COK-12 mesoporous material using different silicon sources

Abstract

Ordered mesoporous silica materials have attracted attention in catalysis and adsorption processes due to their high surface area and uniform pore channels. This work reports the synthesis of type COK-12’s mesoporous materials with 2D hexagonal symmetry via a simple room-temperature route operating under quasi-neutral pH conditions. To investigate the impact of the silicon precursor on the final meso-organization, three materials AP24, AP8 and AP9 were prepares using in situ generated sodium silicate, fumed silica and SiO2, respectively. Characterization was performed using low-angle X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). XRD patterns confirmed the formation of the mesoporous structure across all samples, as evidenced by the primary (100) reflection peak. Notably, sample AP24 displayed additional (110) and (200) planes and a substantially higher intensity, indicating enhanced meso-structural ordering. This is assigned to the superior reactivity of in situ sodium silicate during the self-assembly with the P123 triblock copolymer surfactant.