Unusual, Vesicle-like Patterned, Mesoscopically Ordered Silica

A mixture of cationic and anionic surfactants has been used as structure-directing agents in the synthesis of mesoscopically ordered silica in the presence of toluene. The preferred interfacial curvature was adjusted by varying the anionic/cationic surfactant molar ratio, which allowed for better control of the solubilization of toluene by the silicate−surfactant mesophase. A pronounced increase in the toluene solubilization capacity was observed at anionic/cationic surfactant molar ratios close to that where the lamellar phase starts to appear in the absence of added toluene. TEM measurements reveal the presence of long, vesicular structures in the materials synthesized in the presence of anionic/cationic surfactant and toluene. Apart from TEM measurements, the materials were characterized by SAXS, N 2 sorption, and 29 Si NMR.