Ordering improvement of mesoporous silica materials templated from semi-fluorinated nonionic surfactants by introduction of organic additives

Worm-like mesoporous silica materials are synthesized in both acidic (JLU-11) and neutral (JLU-12) media using a semi-fluorinated surfactant of CF3(CF2)5(EO)14 as a template. After introduction of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) in the synthesis, ordered hexagonal mesoporous silica materials (JLU-11(o) and JLU-12(o)) are obtained. The additive of TMB in the synthesis of mesoporous materials (JLU-11(o) and JLU-12(o)) is actually used as an effective agent for improving the order of mesostructure for the samples, rather than a swelling agent for the expansion of mesopore size, which is quite different from the results of mesoporous materials templated from hydrocarbon surfactants (MCM-41 and SBA-15). Furthermore, the ordering improvement of the samples is well characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N2 isotherms.