Preparation and characterization of ordered mesoporous silica membrane

Hexagonal mesoporous silica (MCM-41) membranes were prepared at air-water interface by means of an interfacial silica-surfactant self-assembly process. The free-standing and oriented mesoporous silica membranes with pore size ≈2.9-3.8 nm were synthesized at room temperature in acidic media and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations. Small-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD) patterns of membranes clearly indicated that as-synthesized membranes were typical of MCM-41 materials with a periodic hexagonal structure with the channels parallel to the surface. SEM images showed that the as-synthesized membrane was continuous and crack-free. In this paper, some novel findings are reported.