Morphological Control of Mesoporous Silica Materials with Self-organized Structure and Their Mechanical Properties

Mesoporous silica materials with self-organized structures that consist of periodic nano-scale pores have been expected to be of great significance in realizing micro-nano systems. The morphological control of the mesostructured materials are demonstrated by varying the concentration ratios of CH3(CH2)15N(CH3)3Cl (C16TMACl)/ (C2H5O)4Si (TEOS) and HCl solution. The increase of the concentration ratios changes the shape and size of the mesostructured materials. Linear hexagonal rods, good example for this application, can be synthesized by the reaction of 7.04 g/4.48 ml for C16TMACl/ TEOS and 70 ml/20 ml for 5N HCl/H2O. The most suitable calcination conditions for higher strength are determined by varying the calcination temperature up to 1000 °C. The hardness, elastic modulus and fracture load of the mesostructured hexagonal rods are clarified by nano-indentation method.