Using Polymer-Colloid Complexes for Obtaining Mesoporous Aluminium Oxide by the Template Sol-Gel Method

Abstract

The paper reports the results of using polymer-colloid complexes in solutions in order to control textural properties of mesoporous aluminium oxide in the sol–gel synthesis process. Polyethyleneimine, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, as well as a polymer-colloid complex formed by their interaction in the solution were used as pore-forming templates. The mesoporous aluminium oxides synthesized in this work had a narrow pore size distribution and a large surface area. The application of different templates made it possible to affect the mechanism of supramolecular self–assembly of materials, namely by controlling the pore sizes. When the polymer-colloid complex was used as the template for the formation of aluminium oxide nanostructures, 6 nm cylindrical pores were formed, while using individual templates led to the formation of 8–13 nm mesopores. Identifying the formation mechanism of a certain pore type will make it possible to use these materials in specific reactions.