Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-020-05219-w ORIGINAL PAPER: SOL-GEL, HYBRIDS AND SOLUTION CHEMISTRIES Effect of microwave irradiation on the structural, chemical, and hydrophilicity characteristics of ordered mesoporous silica SBA-15 Marília R. Oliveira 1,2 ● Monique Deon 3 ● Edilson V. Benvenutti 3 ● Vinicius A. Barros 4 ● Darley C. de Melo 4 ● Elton Franceschi 1,2 ● Silvia M. Egues 1,2 ● Juliana F. De Conto 1,2 Received: 16 August 2019 / Accepted: 6 January 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Structural, chemical, morphological, and hydrophilic surface characteristics of SBA-15 silica synthesized by hydrothermal method in an autoclave and in a microwave-heated reactor were analyzed in this work. The influence of time and temperature on these characteristics was investigated. Materials were characterized by textural analysis (BET), FTIR, TGA, XRD, goniometer contact angle, SEM, and TEM. It was possible to obtain SBA-15 silicas assisted by microwave heating irradiation with short-time synthesis (0.5–8 h) compared with the hydrothermal classic method (24 h). Materials presented surface area between 650 and 850 m 2 g -1 . Through the XRD and TEM results, it was observed that mesostructured materials with two-dimensional, long-range, and hexagonal ordered channels are characteristic of SBA-15. This study showed that heating by microwave irradiation during silica synthesis generates materials with a greater amount of silanol groups. It is possible to control the surface properties of SBA-15 during the microwave-assisted synthesis through temperature tuning. Higher temperature provided SBA-15 with higher hydrophilicity. Graphical Abstract Autoclave Hydrothermal Microwave Irradiation SBA-15-MW SBA-15-C OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH * Juliana F. De Conto jfconto@gmail.com 1 Laboratory of Materials Synthesis and Chromatography (LSINCROM), Center for Studies in Colloidal Systems (NUESC)/ Institute of Technology and Research (ITP), Av. Murilo Dantas, 300, Aracaju, SE CEP 49032-490, Brazil 2 Postgraduate Program in Process Engineering (PEP)/Postgraduate Program in Industrial Biotechnology (PBI), Tiradentes University (UNIT), Av. Murilo Dantas, 300, Aracaju, SE CEP 49032-490, Brazil 3 Laboratory of Solids and Surfaces (LSS)/Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS CEP 91501-97, Brazil 4 Leopoldo Américo Miguez de Mello Research and Development Center (CENPES)/Petróleo Brasileiro S/A (PETROBRAS), Av. Horácio Macedo, 950, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ CEP 21941-915, Brazil Supplementary information The online version of this article (https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10971-020-05219-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 1234567890();,: 1234567890();,: