Effect of template removal methods on physical properties and catalytic performance of Co-HMS.

With Co(OAc)2 as Co source and hexadecylamine (HDA) as template, cobalt-containing hexagonal mesoporous silicas (Co-HMS) was successfully synthesized by a one-step co-condensation route at ambient temperature. Two different methods (calcination and solvent extraction) were separately utilized to remove the template molecules, and the effects on physical properties and application performance were studied in detail using the characterization of XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, TEM, FT-IR, UV-vis diffuse reflectance techniques and catalytic activity measurement, respectively. The results showed that solvent extraction was more favorable for mesoporous structure maintaining. And in the liquid-phase oxidation of hydrocarbons, higher activities were obtained with Co-HMS-E being used.