Preparation of ordered carbon/silica hybrid mesoporous materials with specific pore size expansion

A hybrid carbon/silica mesoporous material with unexpected pore size expansion was prepared using directly carbonized surfactant method. At the given conditions of treatment, the resultant product had expanded d-spacings (d = 19.6 nm) and a pore diameter of up to 8.8 nm could be achieved, suggesting a pore diameter expansion of 54% compared with the conventionally calcined mesoporous silica in air. PXRD, nitrogen adsorption measurement and TEM investigations show that the mesoporous structure was preserved perfectly after the carbonization treatment. The distinct advantage over conventional expanded pore techniques is that the treatment did not affect the hexagonal ordering of the parent silica.