Preparation of 3D cubic mesoporous silica HOM-5 via direct-templating synthesis

Highly ordered mesoporous silica HOM-5 (cubic, Ia $(3) over bar $d) with three-dimensional (31)) bicontinuous channels was fabricated under acidic condition via a direct-templating synthesis. Primary lyotropic liquid crystal mesophase of P123 was used as the template. The as-synthesized HOM-5 had thick walls of 15.0 nm. The mean pore diameter and specific surface area of the material were 5.7 nm and 500 m(2)center dot g(-1), respectively. Results show that materials obtained from this simple synthesis are highly ordered with perfect meso-structures. The results of hydrothermal testing show that the as-synthesized silica retains Ia $(3) over bar $d space group after refluxing in boiling water for 6 hours.