SYNTHESIS OF MCM–41 MATERIAL USING RICE HUSK ASH AS A SOURCE OF SILICON

Abstract

In the present paper, a synthesis of MCM–41 mesoporous material with a sodium silicate solution prepared from rice husk ash as a silica source using the hydrothermal process is demonstrated. The influence of synthesis conditions on the material structure such as cetyltetramethylammonium bromide (CTAB) concentration, SiO2/CTAB molar ratio, stirring time, and aging time was investigated. The materials were characterized using XRD, FT–IR, and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm measurement. The results show that the material possesses highly ordered hexagonal mesostructure with uniform mesopore size distribution in a large range of CTAB concentration (the mass fraction is from 0.0133 to 0.0481) and the SiO2/CTAB molar ratio (4–15). The sample with the molar ratio of CTAB: SiO2: H2O = 1: 6: 1000 has a high surface area (1074 m2/g) and large pore diameter (33.5 Å).