Hierarchical silica particles by dynamic multicomponent assembly

Aerosol-assisted assembly of mesoporous silica particles with hierarchically controllable pore structure has been prepared using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO, H[OCH(CH3)CH2]nOH) as co-templates. Addition of the hydrophobic PPO significantly influences the delicate hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance in the well-studied CTAB-silicate co-assembling system, resulting in various mesostructures (such as hexagonal, lamellar, and hierarchical structure). The co-assembly of CTAB, silicate clusters, and a low-molecular-weight PPO (average Mn 425) results in a uniform lamellar structure; while the use of a high-molecular-weight PPO (average Mn 2000), which is more hydrophobic, leads to the formation of hierarchical pore structure that contains meso-meso or meso-macro pore structure. The role of PPO additives on the mesostructure evolution in the CTAB-silicate assembling system was discussed. The mesostructure of these particles was characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N2 sorption.