THE SYNTHESIS OF MESOPOROUS COPPER SILICATES USING ORGANOFUNCTIONAL SILICON ALKOXIDES

The ability of organofunctional silicon alkoxides to bind metal ions i s taken advantage of to produce copper-substituted mesoporous silica. Evidence is presented that the Cu2+, which is distributed homogeneousl y throughout the structure, is actually incorporated into the framewor k. Through X-ray diffraction, electron spin resonance, transmission el ectron microscopy, and surface area measurements it is demonstrated th at, apart from having thicker walls, this new mesoporous material has similar structural characteristics and physical properties to those of pure hex:agonal mesoporous silicas.