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Abstract

A method for the preparation of new quasi-crystalline, porous inorganic oxide materials possessing uniform framework-confined mesopores in the range 2.0-10.0 nm and large elementary particle size of more than 500.0 nm. The method uses an interaction between various nonionic polyethylene oxide based surfactants (N.degree.) and neutral inorganic oxide precursors (I.sunburst.) at ambient reaction temperatures. The materials formed exhibit semi-ordered arrays of well defined pores owing to the specific mechanism of self-assembly, large pore wall thicknesses of at least 2.0 nm producing highly stable materials and large particle sizes incorporating large numbers of pores. This (N.degree. I.degree.) templating approach introduces several new concepts to mesostructure synthesis. The application of the low-cost, non-toxic and biodegradable surfactants and ambient reaction temperatures, introduces environmentally clean synthetic techniques to the formation of mesostructures. Recovery of the template can be achieved through solvent extraction where the solvent may be water or ethanol.

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