Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Colloids and Surfaces A journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/colsurfa Research paper Modification of SBA-15 with vapors of aluminum and titanium chlorides Marek Kosmulski ⁎ , Edward Mączka Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 38A, 20-618 Lublin, Poland GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Mesoporous material Silica Zeta potential Specific surface area Isoelectric point Catalysis ABSTRACT Vapors of AlCl 3 and of TiCl 4 were adsorbed on SBA-15 at 20–100 °C. The volatile compounds adsorbed on the surface were hydrolyzed by water vapor at 25 °C, and the product of hydrolysis was dried at 80–200 °C. The above procedure results in a metal-modified silica with specific surface area and pore volume lower than those of the original SBA-15 silica, but the honeycomb structure is preserved. The properties of metal-modified silicas can be adjusted by varying the time and temperature of deposition of chlorides, and by post-treatment. The above procedure can be applied to metals other than Al or Ti, and it can also be repeated several times with different metal precursors to produce composites containing more than one metal. 1. Introduction Mesoporous silicas having specific surface areas of 300–600 m 2 /g, grain sizes from a few micrometers to a few millimeters, and average pore diameters of 5–15 nm have been used for many decades, and they can be easily obtained in a laboratory [1–4]. They are also offered commercially, and due to their low price, high surface area and high mechanical and chemical resistance they are very useful as adsorbents, and carriers of catalysts. The surface of silica can be modified with different compounds and using various techniques to increase its affi- nity to certain adsorbates. More recently the MCM-41 [5] and SBA-15 [6] materials were introduced, which have especially high specific surface areas, and regular networks of pores. These materials have more well-defined and reproducible properties than the aforementioned commercial mesoporous silicas, and they have been extensively stu- died, including synthesis of metal-modified silicas. The metal-modified http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2017.09.023 Received 10 July 2017; Received in revised form 14 September 2017; Accepted 15 September 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: marek@kosmulski.org (M. Kosmulski). Colloids and Surfaces A 535 (2017) 61–68 Available online 18 September 2017 0927-7757/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. MARK