Hydrothermal synthesis of mesoporous titanosilicate with the aid of amphiphilic organosilane

Mesoporous MFI-type titanosilicates (TS-1) were hydrothermally synthesized with the aid of amphiphilic organosilane and the effects of the amphiphilic organosilane on the structural and textural properties of the resultant materials were investigated. The physicochemical properties of the samples were characterized by various techniques and their catalytic performance was investigated by the epoxidation of cyclohexene with hydrogen peroxide. The content of organosilane added was essential for the formation of uniform mesopore in TS-1, and greatly influenced the crystallinity. Highly crystallined TS-1 with uniform mesopores of 3.7 nm diameter was successfully synthesized. The mesoporous TS-1 preserved tetrahedrally coordinated Ti ions in the framework, but it was featured with more hydrophobic surface and less defect sites in comparison to conventional TS-1. Mesoporous TS-1 showed a higher conversion for the epoxidation of cyclohexene owing to an easier access of bulky molecules to the catalytic active sites. Mesoporous TS-1's higher hydrophobicity made its epoxide selectivity two times as much as that of conventional TS-1.