Poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(butylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide)-templated synthesis of mesoporous alumina: effect of triblock copolymer and acid concentration.

Mesoporous alumina was synthesized via a one-pot self-assembly of aluminum isopropoxide and poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(butylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer in an acidic ethanol solution. The effects of the polymer concentration and nitric acid concentration, independently, on the adsorption properties (such as surface area, pore volume, microporosity, mesoporosity, and pore width) were studied. An increase in the specific surface area and the pore volume was seen for the samples containing a polymer/aluminum isopropoxide wt. ratio up to 0.71 and a polymer/acid wt ratio of 0.88. Titania isopropoxide was also added to the synthesis to illustrate the extension of this approach to alumina-based mixed metal oxides.

Effect of cosolvent organic molecules on the adsorption and structural properties of soft-templated ordered mesoporous alumina.

Ordered mesoporous aluminas with high surface areas (up to 783 m(2)/g), large pore volumes (up to 0.82 cm(3)/g) and the presence of complementary micropores (up to 0.17 cm(3)/g) are synthesized with Pluronic® F127 or P123 triblock copolymers in a one-pot synthesis of metal alkoxide, template and cosolvent molecules such as 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene or 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene in an acidic ethanol solution at 15 °C. Materials are characterized by nitrogen adsorption analysis, small-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy.

Introduction of bridging and pendant organic groups into mesoporous alumina materials.

Incorporation of organic functionalities into soft-templated mesoporous alumina was performed via organosilane-assisted evaporation induced self-assembly using aluminum alkoxide precursors and block copolymer templates. This strategy permits one to obtain mesoporous alumina-based materials with tailorable adsorption, surface and structural properties. Isocyanurate, ethane, mercaptopropyl, and ureidopropyl-functionalized mesoporous alumina materials were synthesized with relatively high surface area and large pore volume with uniform and wormhole-like mesopores. The presence of organosilyl groups within these hybrid materials was confirmed by IR or Raman spectroscopy and their concentration was determined by elemental analysis.