P. Vandervoort et al., CREATION OF VOX SURFACE SPECIES ON PURE SILICA MCM-48 USING GAS-PHASEMODIFICATION WITH VO(ACAC)(2), JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B, 102(3), 1998, pp. 585-590
Pure silica MCM-48 is prepared by a novel synthesis method, using the
18H37N+(CH3)(2)-(CH2)(12)-N+(CH3)(2)C18H37].2Br(-) surfactant, abbrevi
ated as GEMINI 18-12-18. The MCM-48, obtained after careful calcinatio
n, is a highly crystalline, mesoporous material with the characteristi
cs of the Ia3d cubic phase, a surface area exceeding 1000 m(2)/g, and
a narrow mesoporous pore size distribution (r = 1.4 nm; fwhh < 0.2 nm)
. This MCM support is grafted with VOx species using a designed disper
sion of VO(acac)(2) in a gas-deposition reactor. In the first step, th
e complex is anchored to the support. In a subsequent step the adsorbe
d complex is thermolyzed to yield chemically bonded VOx surface specie
s, The final material contains 1.7 mmol V/g (8.7 wt % V) and still has
a narrow pore-size distribution and a surface area of 800 m(2)/g. It
is observed that all silanols are consumed during the adsorption of th
e VO(acac)(2) complex to the MCM support. Therefore, the maximum achie
vable number of surface V species is limited by the silanol number and
not by the geometrical surface, which has a higher capacity, After ca
lcination of the adsorbed complex, the supported VOx species are prese
nt in a strictly tetrahedral configuration, mainly as chains of linked
tetrahedra and not as isolated species.