Novel non-hydrolytic templated sol-gel synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilicates and their use as aminolysis catalysts

Abstract

A novel non-hydrolytic sol-gel (NHSG) synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilicate xerogels is presented. The polycondensation between silicon acetate, Si(OAc)4, and tris(dimethylamido)alane, Al(NMe2)3, leads to homogeneous aluminosilicate xerogels containing Si-O-Al linkages through dimethylacetamide elimination. The addition of Pluronic P123 and F127 templates provides stiff gels that are, after calcination at 500°C, converted to stable mesoporous xerogels with a high surface area (>600 m2 g-1) and wormhole-type pores (d = 5.9 nm). The xerogels exhibit high catalytic activity in aminolysis of styrene oxide (82% conversion) with the turnover frequency up to 100.