Abstract
Porous silica samples were prepared by a non-template approach using silicate and HCl at different pH values. Macroporous silica with a low surface area of 72.0 m2/g was obtained at pH = 7. Surprisingly, mesoporous silica with very high surface area of 806.0 m2/g was obtained at pH = 3. This was due to the formation of protonated silicic acid molecules under acidic condition which had enough time for the polymerization and assembly to mesoporous structure, and the rapid polymerization and assembly of silicic molecules under neutral condition to silica nanoparticles among which macropores were formed. The mesoporous silica showed a saturation toluene adsorption capacity of 79.1 mg g−1, 9 times higher than that of the macroporous silica.
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