Tubular morphology of mesoporous silica MCM-41

We investigated detailed conditions for synthesizing the tubular form of MC M-41 mesoporous aluminosilicate. The method is the delayed neutralization m ethod in which the rate of neutralization is one of the controlling factors . Rapid neutralization results in the particulate form while gradual neutra lization leads to tubules. It is found that the tubule morphology has sever al sub-categories. There are thick-walled, think-walled hollow tubular MCM- 41 and solid core tubules. There are void structures in the channel framewo rk that makes the nanochannels to be effectively interconnected.