Taking Nanocasting One Step Further: Replicating CMK-3 as a Silica Material

Abstract

Casting silica nets: By repeated “nanocasting” it is possible to first obtain a negative of the SBA-15 structure, known as CMK-3, which is then used to produce another nanocast by impregnation with tetraethoxysilane and condensation. After calcination to remove the carbon, an ordered mesoporous silica is obtained, called NCS-1 (see scheme). This pathway could be generalized to allow also the synthesis of other ordered oxides.