Synthesis and Characterization of Mesoporous Materials MCM-41 Incorporated by Yttrium, Neodymium and Samarium

Using cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide （CTMAB） as template agent and tetraethylorthosilicate （TEOS） as silica Source, the MCM-41 mesoporous materials were synthesized with Y, Nd and Sm incorporated in the framework under hydrothermal conditions. The structure and the micro-morphology of the materials and the state of Y, Nd and Sm were investigated through the analyses of XRD, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm, SEM, IR and TG-DTA. The XRD resuits indicate that the synthetic samples are of typical structure of mesoporous MCM-41 with ordered hexagonal arrangements, and Y, Nd and Sm can be incorporated into the framework of these mesoporous materials. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms show that the samples possess the typical mesopores character. SEM micrographs reveal that the incorporated samples show a well-defined spherical morphology with the diameter ranging 0.10 - 0.15μm. The occurrence of two different template sorption sites in the framework as revealed by TG-DTA analysis further suggests the presence of Y, Nd and Sm in siliceous framework.