Ordered mesoporous molecular sieves synthesized by a liquid-crystal template mechanism

MICROPOROUS and mesoporous inorganic solids (with pore diameters of ≤20 A and ∼20–500 A respectively)1 have found great utility as catalysts and sorption media because of their large internal surface area. Typical microporous materials are the crystalline framework solids, such as zeolites2, but the largest pore dimensions found so far are ∼10–12 A for some metallophosphates3–5 and ∼14 A for the mineral cacoxenite6. Examples of mesoporous solids include silicas7 and modified layered materials8–11, but these are invariably amorphous or paracrystalline, with pores that are irregularly spaced and broadly distributed in size8,12. Pore size can be controlled by intercalation of layered silicates with a surfactant species9,13, but the final product retains, in part, the layered nature of the precursor material. Here we report the synthesis of mesoporous solids from the calcination of aluminosilicate gels in the presence of surfactants. The material14,15 possesses regular arrays of uniform channels, the dimensions of which can be tailored (in the range 16 A to 100 A or more) through the choice of surfactant, auxiliary chemicals and reaction conditions. We propose that the formation of these materials takes place by means of a liquid-crystal 'templating' mechanism, in which the silicate material forms inorganic walls between ordered surfactant micelles.