Preparation of Highly Ordered Mesoporous Thiophene–Silica with Spherical Macrostructure

Highly ordered mesoporous thiophene–silica powder was prepared using nonionic PEO–PLGA–PEO triblock copolymer templates and a 2,5-bis(triethoxysilyl)thiophene organosilica precursor under acidic conditions. The mesoporous thiophene–silica materials prepared with the EO16(L29G7)EO16 template were observed to have a well-defined spherical-like external morphology with a diameter of 2–5 μm, and a 2D hexagonal (p6mm) array of mesopores with a lattice constant of 9.55 nm. The thiophene–silica also displayed a large surface area of up to 1410 m2 g−1.