Mesoporous hybrid from anionic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) and cationic surfactant by hydrothermal approach

In this paper, we report one novel kind of organic–inorganic mesoporous hybrid from octa-anionic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) and cationic surfactant. The mesoporous hybrid was achieved by two steps: first, lamellar precursor made of POSS and surfactant was prepared by template-directed synthesis; then mesoporous structure was obtained via the reformation of lamellar precursor under hydrothermal treatment. According to our experimental results (XRD, TEM and SEM), the lamellar-to-hexagonal mesophase transformation process and its mechanism was suggested. The thermal stability and degradation behavior of the mesoporous hybrid was also discussed based on TGA curves obtained under nitrogen atmosphere.