Synthesis and characterization of sol-gel zirconium phosphate with template surfactants by different methods

Long chain trimethylammonium salts can be successfully used as guest molecules to produce mesoporous layered materials when intercalated in sol-gel zirconium phosphate, an inorganic ion-exchanger. The obtained materials are very similar independently of the chain length and the synthesis method batch (B) or direct intercalation (DI). They show a good thermal stability, and a very high interlayer distance if compared with their precursor. By the thermal characterization it can be observed that the surfactant is lost in two or three steps depending on its position in the host. The layered structure with the expanded interlayer distance is maintained up to 300°C. From the IR spectra the different surfactant release models for (B) and (DI) are confirmed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.