Abstract
Dandelion-type silica spheres with a dendrimer-like porous structure were prepared by adding pore modifiers into aqueous synthetic mixtures of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), ammonium hydroxide, and acetone. The formation of silica spheres and their porous characteristics were investigated using various techniques, including electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and thermogravimetric analysis. Benzyl acetate (BENA) was very effective in the formation of a dendrimer-like porous structure. However, the composition of TEOS, CTAB, acetone, and BENA strongly influenced the size and shape of the silica spheres and their porous structure. The synthetic mixture of 1 TEOS: 0.22 CTAB: 1.9 BENA: 0.32 NH4OH: 36 acetone: 236 H2O produced dandelion-type silica spheres with diameters of ~300 nm. The phosphazenium hydroxide (PzOH) catalyst supported on the dandelion-type silica spheres prepared by adding BENA showed high catalytic performance in the transesterification of soybean oil with methanol due to its high feasibility for rapid access of large triglyceride molecules into the basic PzOH moieties incorporated in the pores.
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