Synthesis of silica modified with 1-methylimidazolium chloride by sol-gel method: A comparison between microwave radiation-assisted and conventional methods

The possibility of producing new compounds that combine organic and inorganic materials for improved properties has become increasingly attractive to material science research. The synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid materials, such as silica modified with an ionic liquid, is an emerging alternative, because the porous silica matrix is already used in several chemical and materials science fields, and ionic liquids have advantageous characteristics compared to other organic compounds. However, the synthesis of hybrid materials involves long reaction times and high temperatures. To overcome this problem, the synthesis of these materials assisted by microwave irradiation has been tested, because is a simple and efficient alternative that reduces reaction time. Some organic synthesis reactions assisted by microwaves have higher reaction rates due to thermal effects, related to specific molecular interactions of microwaves with the material. So, the purpose of this work was to synthesize silica modified with the ionic liquid 1-methylimidazolium chloride using conventional heating and microwave irradiation, as well as to characterize and compare the materials synthesized in both methodologies. After synthesizing the organic-inorganic hybrid material by microwave irradiation, it was observed that it reduced synthesis time and improved its textural properties and chemical composition, when compared to material synthesized with conventional heating.