Ion exchange columns for the synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials

Structured mesoporous materials were successfully synthetized using an ion exchange column as protons source. Operating conditions were set in order to obtain mesostructured materials using short operation times. This method opens the door to the industrial synthesis of this kind of materials. The ordered mesoporous materials were obtained using sodium silicate solution as a precursor and poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (EO19PO39EO19 denoted as P84) was used as structure-directing agent. The influence of the composition variables (surfactant and precursor concentrations) was studied. The materials were characterized by TEM, SAXS and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms to determine their specific surface area. A response surface was obtained, showing that in the studied range the ratio sodium silicate:water was the most significant parameter in order to obtain the materials with a well-structured pore arrangement. The use of sodium silicate solution as silica source instead of TEOS or TMOS, and the possibility of obtaining a material through an ion exchange column are important from the application point of view because of the relatively cheap raw materials and equipments. Presented results indicate that for every precursor:water:surfactant system an optimum experimental operating conditions must be selected once the reactants flow rate has been set.