Surfactant template synthesis of mesoporous silica monolith was carried out via modified fast sol gel process. It was easy to obtain crack free silica monolith due to low volume shrinkage during the gelation. The morphology of the titled silica was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X ray diffraction. The results showed that the pores were worm like and the pore size was about 4 nm. Further nitrogen isothermal absorption experiment indicated that the specific area of the titled material was 391 m 2/g, which was comparable with the reported value 306 m 2/g in literature.
A method for preparing 3D ordered macroporous silicate materials was developed by using the ordered stacking structure of monodispersed polystyrene latex as a template. By using a modified sol\|gel procedure, the ordered template was permeated and filled with silicate, and the title porous materials was formed after removing the template by calcination at high temperature. Moreover, the pores were highly ordered throughout all the sample. After observing the morphological profile of the sample before calcination, it was found that silicate existed in two typical morphologies: monodispersed particles in the cavities and interconnected network within the interstice of the template. The transition morphology was rod\|like formed by the condensation of the silicate monodispersed particles. Two aspects concerning with the template effects of the ordered latex film were emphasized: the polymeric spheres may result in orderly packed holes after calcination, and the dielectric interfacial layer surrounding the polymeric spheres may induce the formation of monodispersed silicate spheres with ordered stacking. Both aspects played important roles in the formation of the highly ordered inorganic porous materials by calcination the gel at high temperature.
