Synthesis and characterization of periodic mesoporous organosilicas as anion exchange resins for perrhenate adsorption

A new methodology to immobilize ionic liquids through the use of a bridged silsesquioxane N-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl), N(3)-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl-4,5-dihydroimidazolium iodide that incorporates an ionic functionality for the assembly of novel periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) materials has been developed. The resulting PMO materials were investigated for use as novel anion exchange resins for the separation of perrhenate anions in aqueous solution. As compared with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, 1-hexadecane-3-methylimidazolium bromide has been demonstrated to be a more efficient surfactant template for the generation of mesopores and surface areas for such PMO materials.