Synthesis of amino-functionalized MCM-48 silica via direct co-condensation at room temperature

• Ordered amino-functionalized MCM-48 silica was prepared in-situ at room temperature.
• The effect of experimental conditions on the structural properties was studied.
• The structural ordering of silica was stable to surfactant removal.
• The amino content was determined by a fluorometric method.

Amino-functionalized MCM-48 silicas with highly ordered porous structure have been successfully synthesized through a co-condensation method carried out at room temperature under basic conditions. The influence of experimental conditions on the structural, morphological and textural properties of materials has been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and specific surface areas, pore volumes and pore sizes distribution were calculated from N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. Based on X-ray diffraction patterns, the amino-functionalized silica samples synthesized with the optimal reaction parameters exhibited intense and well-defined reflections typical of cubic MCM-48 structure. Besides, the pore ordering of MCM-48 silica network was resistant to the extraction conditions of surfactant. The presence of the organosilane introduced into the silica network as functionalizing agent was identified by infrared spectroscopy and the amino groups content was estimated by a fluorometric method with fluorescamine.

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