Mesoporous sieves with unified hybrid inorganic/organic frameworks

Mesoporous materials have been synthesized that are composed of hybrid fram eworks in which inorganic and organic components have a fixed stoichiometry and are covalently bonded. The creation of UOFMN (unified organically func tionalized mesoporous networks) materials incorporates concepts employed in the synthesis of MCM-41 mesoporous silicates, making use of a quaternary a mmonium cationic surfactant and a double trialkoxysilyl precursor such as b is(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTSE) or bis(triethoxysilyl)ethylene (BTSEY). The cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA(+)) surfactant is removed by extraction with a cid, resulting in a high surface area porous organosilicate framework in wh ich Si atoms are bridged by ethane (from BTSE) or ethylene (BTSEY) groups. The channels are wormlike and uniform in diameter. UOFMN materials are more hydrothermally stable than MCM-41 prepared under similar conditions and ha ve thicker pore walls. Ethylene groups in products made with BTSEY can be b rominated, the brominated product itself being reactive as a bromide source . The UOFMN products were characterized by XRD, N-2 adsorption, solid-state Si-29 and C-13 NMR, and TEM.