Polystyrene modified hybrid materials based on ordered mesoporous silica

Abstract

Organically-modified mesoporous silica materials have been prepared by direct co-condensation of styrylethyltrimethoxysilane (STETMOS) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in one-pot synthesis. The polimerizable nature of the styryl-containing precursor induces the formation of anchored polystyrene blocks over the silica surface, which are amenable to be functionalized with acid groups via sulfonation. The resultant organosulfonic-modified mesostructured silica materials have exhibited hexagonal long-range mesoscopic arrangement with extended surface areas and narrow mean pore size distributions. The acid capacity of these materials was assessed on the acid-catalyzed reaction test of anisole acylation with acetic anhydride.