Thermal degradation of CTAB in as-synthesized MCM-41

Thermal evacuation of a surfactant template from pure siliceous MCM-41 and MCM-41 containing aluminium in hydrogen flow was investigated. Micelle templated MCM-41 were prepared using hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The products of thermal surfactant degradation outside and inside pores were identified at various temperatures using ¹³C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and temperature programmed desorption coupled with mass spectrometer (TPD-MS). The GC-MS and ¹³C MAS NMR results obtained from this study provide an insight into the mechanism of surfactant transformation during MCM-41 synthesis on molecular level.