Polystyrene modified hybrid materials based on ordered mesoporous silica

Abstract Organically-modified mesoporous silica materials have been prepared by direct co-condensation of styrylethyltrimethoxysilane (STETMOS) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in one-pot synthesis. The polimerizable nature of the styryl-containing precursor induces the formation of anchored polystyrene blocks over the silica surface, which are amenable to be functionalized with acid groups via sulfonation. The resultant organosulfonic-modified mesostructured silica materials have exhibited hexagonal longrange mesoscopic arrangement with extended surface areas and narrow mean pore size distributions. The acid capacity of these materials was assessed on the acid-catalyzed reaction test of anisole acylation with acetic anhydride.