Extensive Void Defects in Mesoporous Aluminosilicate MCM-41

Mesoporous MCM-41 materials with a distinct N2-sorption hysteresis behavior have been prepared from pure silica and aluminosilicate−C16 trimethylammonium (TMA)Br systems by a delayed neutralization procedure. On the basis of the analysis of transmission electron microscopy micrographs of these MCM-41 materials, we observed that the sample with large type-H4 hysteresis loop at p/p0 between 0.5 and 1.0 contains extensive structural defect holes amid the nanochannels. These holes are irregular in shape and their size distributes between 5.0 and 30.0 nm. The pore-blocking effect leads to the hysteresis in desorption. Aluminosilicate MCM-41 often possesses a larger hysteresis loop than pure silica MCM-41. The linear channel system of MCM-41 becomes effectively interconnected through these defect holes. The unusual adsorption hysteresis is associated with the pore-blocking effect around the embedded voids in the framework structures. The size of the adsorption−desorption hysteresis loop is proportional to the v...