Synthesis of monodispersed super-microporous/mesoporous silica spheres with diameters in the low submicron range

Monodispersed super-microporous/mesoporous silica spheres with particle diameters falling in the range 0.1–0.4 μm were successfully synthesized from tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and n-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide. By using polyol, rather than methanol, as a co-solvent, the particle diameters were reduced. Moreover, the addition of a polymer contributed to the decrease in particle diameter. It was assumed that the increased solution viscosity led to a higher generation of primary particles, resulting in smaller particle diameter. The adsorption properties of the samples were a specific surface area of 750–1100 m2 g−1 and a pore volume of 0.33–0.54 cm3 g−1. Furthermore, it was found that a colloidal crystal film fabricated from the monodispersed mesoporous silica spheres obtained using ethylene glycol as a co-solvent reflects light in the visible light region.