Synthesis and characterization of spherical Tb-MCM-41

Spherical MCM-41 was synthesized at room temperature and functionalized by means of direct synthesis method. Evidence for the terbium presence in the silica matrix was obtained by means of EDX. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs showed that terbium incorporation did not change significantly MCM-41 morphology. The maintenance of the hexagonal structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern analysis. The cell parameter increase and the surface area decrease, observed by N2 adsorption-desorption technique, were taken as evidence of terbium introduction inside the MCM-41 framework. By FT-IR spectra it was found that the main features of the silica framework were maintained. The presence of a strong absorption band centered at ca. 220 nm in the diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectra could indicate the presence of tetra-coordinated terbium in the silica network of Tb-MCM-41 samples.