Effect of formamide on the morphologies of ordered mesoporous silica

At room temperature and in acidic solution, ordered mesoporous silicas with particular morphology were synthesized using cetylpyridinium chloride as the template and formamide as the cosolvent. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), small angle X-ray diffraction (SXRD), and nitrogen adsorption techniques were used to characterize the as-synthesized and calcined samples. Results showed that the samples had hexagonal mesostructure analogous to MCM-41 and relatively narrow pore-size distributions (BJH). Besides, BET surface areas of the samples were in the range of 1000similar to1250 m(2).g(-1) and high total pore volumes were up to 1.367 cm(3).g(-1). Addition of formamide affected obviously mesostructures and the morphology of the mesoporous silica. Furthermore, with the increase of the concentration of formamide, the unit-cell constant decreased and particle shape changed from gyroids to fibers.