Effects of Different Acidic Conditions on Surface Patterns and Mesophases of Mesoporous Silica

Mesoporous silica spheres with diameters in microscale have been synthesized under static acidic conditions by mixed cationic-nonionic surfactant templating. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM and nitrogenad adsorption. The growth of the micrometer-sized mesoporous silica spheres was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a mixed aggregation process was proposed for the formation mechanism of these spheres. The reason that leads to the change of the surface patterns and mesophases of mesoporous silica was discussed.