Sol-gel preparation and synthesis of mesoporous Silica using de-ionised water as Solvent and Poly (ethylene-glycol)-block-poly(propylene-glycol)- block-poly(ethylene-glycol) as source of Micelle

Sol-gel method is a vital wet chemical method for the preparation of gels and other crystalline and non crystalline materials. The method was carefully utilized to synthesize Mesopores with average particle size of 661nm and average distance of 1µm. De-ionised water as compared to ethanol or other polar and non polar solvent was applied to Tetra ethyl ortho-silicate (TEOS) to form the alkoxide and poly(ethylene- glycol)-block-poly(propylene-glycol)-block-poly(ethylene-glycol) was used to form the micelle required for template building. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate the independent elements constituting the mesopore archi- tectures. The architecture constituting the mesopore framework was confirmed to solely depend on the type of solvent used and on the P H of the solution. High ordered structure mesopores of the Santa Barbara Amorphous -15 (SBA/15) was confirmed and synthesized to be widely utilized in catalysis, oil refining, water treatment, drug delivery and advanced nano-technology.