A facile preparation of transparent and monolithic mesoporous silica materials

Abstract

Monolithic mesoporous silica samples of ca. 2 × 2 × 1 mm in dimension with large surface areas (>900 m2 g−1) and pore volumes (>0.80 cm3 g−1) have been readily prepared via a sol–gel process in the presence of hydroxy-carboxylic acid compounds as non-surfactant templates, and their pore structure was observed directly by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM).