Synthesis and characterization of novel Ti-containing mesoporous silicas support

Titanium-containing novel mesoporous silicas have been synthesized at ambient temperature by a sol-gel method using amines with alkyl chains of 10-16 carbon atoms as a templating surfactant. An identical synthesis procedure was followed together with the addition of different amounts of titanium (IV) source in the synthesis gels to obtain its titanium-containing silicate gels. Following this synthesis route, it was possible to prepare materials without forming extrawall TiO2. The transparent gel formed as a precursor resulted in a relatively high titanium incorporation in the silicate framework of up to 0.4% Ti. The characterization results show that most TO4+ are isolated and tetrahedrally incorporated into the framework of the silicate gel. Raman spectra and UV-vis spectra indicated that most Ti atoms were incorporated as isolated Ti sites into the silicate framework, and materials with a higher wt% Ti using relatively more coordination agent to prevent TiO2 forming anatase.