title: Preparation of aluminum-containing mesoporous silica with hierarchical macroporous architecture and its enhanced catalytic activities.
abstract: Aluminum-containing mesoporous silica with hierarchical macroporous architecture (Al-MMS) was successfully prepared using a solvent evaporation method through the combination of precursor solution for synthesis of Al-containing mesoporous silica (Al-MS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) colloidal crystals as a hard template. The porous structure and the state of aluminum were investigated using various characterization techniques. The construction of combined structure of Al-MMS, i.e., hierarchical macroporous architecture consisting of thin mesoporous silica frameworks, led to the formation of many mesopore entrances and the shortening of the mesoporous channels. In the tetrahydropyranylation of linear alcohols with dihydropyran (DHP), Al-MMS exhibited higher catalytic activities for the formation of corresponding tetrahydropyranyl ethers as compared to Al-MS. The advantageous structure of Al-MMS enables the efficient transport of reactants to the catalytically active sites, which realizes the significant enhancement of catalytic performances in the reaction of DHP with alcohols having longer alkyl chains.
authors.affiliation: Division of Materials and Manufacturing Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamegawa
authors.forename: Shota
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: Dayang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D003102:Colloids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; D000535:Aluminum