Face-centered-cubic large-pore periodic mesoporous organosilicas with unsaturated and aromatic bridging groups

Large-pore ethenylene-bridged (-CH═CH-) and phenylene-bridged (-C(6)H(4)-) periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) with face-centered-cubic structure (Fm3m symmetry) of spherical mesopores were synthesized at 7 °C at low acid concentration (0.1 M HCl) using Pluronic F127 triblock copolymer surfactant in the presence of aromatic swelling agents (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, xylenes-isomer mixture, and toluene). In particular, this work reports an unprecedented block-copolymer-templated well-ordered ethenylene-bridged PMO with cubic structure of spherical mesopores and an unprecedented block-copolymer-templated face-centered cubic phenylene-bridged PMO, which also has an exceptionally large unit-cell size and pore diameter. The unit-cell parameters of 30 and 25 nm and the mesopore diameters of 14 and 11 nm (nominal BJH-KJS pore diameters of 12-13 and 9 nm) were obtained for ethenylene-bridged and phenylene-bridged PMOs, respectively. Under the considered reaction conditions, the unit-cell parameters and pore diameters were found to be similar when the three different methyl-substituted benzene swelling agents were employed, although the degree of structural ordering appeared to improve for phenylene-bridged PMOs in the sequence of decreased number of methyl groups on the benzene ring.