Effect of the crystallinity of kaolinite precursors on the properties of mesoporous silicas

Mesoporous silicas (MesoPSs) were hydrothermally synthesized from calcined and selectively acid-leached kaolinites with a range of crystallinity, using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTABr), to investigate the effect of the kaolinite crystallinity on the porous properties of the resulting MesoPSs. Four kaolinites were used, with Hinckley indices ranging from 0.51 to 1.20 and (001) crystallite sizes ranging from 20 to 37 nm. After calcination at 600 °C for 24 h they were selectively leached with 2.5 M H₂SO₄ at 90 °C for 2 h to prepare microporous silica (MicroPSs). The Si/Al ratios of these MicroPSs varied from 21 to 82 and their specific surface areas (S_BET) ranged from 169 to 370 m²/g, these parameters tending to increase with decreasing Hinckley index of the kaolinite. MesoPSs were synthesized by reacting the resulting MicroPSs with CTABr in NaOH solution under hydrothermal conditions. The MicroPS was mixed with CTABr, NaOH and water in the molar ratio (MicroPS):CTABr:NaOH:H₂O = 1:0.1:0.3:150. The synthesis was carried out by stirring the suspension at room temperature for 24 h, aging for 24 h, hydrothermal treatment at 110 °C for 24 h and calcination at 560 °C for 6 h to remove the surfactants. The S_BET values of the resulting MesoPSs ranged from 932 to 1240 m²/g, correlating with the S_BET values of the precursor MicroPS and the crystallinity of the kaolinite starting materials.