Investigation of the morphology of the mesoporous SBA-16 and SBA-15 materials.

Mesoporous SBA-16 and SBA-15 were studied in order to control their possible morphologies. SBA-16 is synthesized using a silicon source (tetraethoxysilane, TEOS) and a ternary system consisting of surfactant F127 (EO106PO70EO106), water, and butanol. The same ternary system, with higher butanol concentration, is used to form SBA-15 material as well.

Adsorption of hydrocarbons on mesoporous SBA-15 and PHTS materials.

Plugged hexagonal templated silica (PHTS) materials are synthesized using a high TEOS/EO(20)PO(70)EO(20) ratio in the SBA-15 synthesis. This generates internal microporous nanocapsules or plugs in part of the channels, which could be inferred from the two-step desorption branch. These materials exhibit a tunable amount of open and plugged pores and a very high micropore volume (up to 0.