Controlling the pore sizes of SBA-15 mesoporous silica by the addition of poly(propylene oxide)

Poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) was added during the synthesis of SBA-15 type mesoporous silica in order to increase the pore diameter. Synthesized mesoporous materials showed different morphologies and pore properties compared to the SBA-15 mesoporous silica without PPO addition due to the presence of PPO. The pore properties were affected by the amount of added PPO in the synthetic mixtures and those values were increased compared to the SBA-15 without PPO addition. The hexagonal pore structure of the SBA-15 mesoporous silica was not altered by the PPO addition, which was confirmed by the TEM and SAXS analysis. However, size of the primary particles was increased in the axial direction resulted in a longer particles.