One-pot synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid mesoporous materials for the adsorption of formaldehyde vapor

One-pot synthesis method was applied to prepare the organic-inorganic hybrid mesoporous materials via the cocondensation reaction of tetraethoxysilane ( TEOS) and three types of organoalkoxysilanes: 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane, n-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino] propyl-trimethoxysilane. Pores of hybrid materials were generated by adding pore-forming agent, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide ( CTAB), to the mixture during the synthesis step. Texture characteristics of the hybrid mesoporous materials were accessed by surface area and a pore-size analyzer. Fourier transform infrared ( FTIR) was operated for identifying the pore surface functional groups. In addition, the hybrid mesoporous materials were applied to adsorb formaldehyde vapor. The experimental adsorption data of formaldehyde fitted well to both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm. Sample derived from n-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane shows the highest adsorptive capacity.