Facile and fast template removal from mesoporous MCM-41 molecular sieve using dielectric-barrier discharge plasma

Dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, initiated at ambient condition, has been successfully applied for removing template from the mesoporous MCM-41 molecular sieve. The template removal rate using DBD plasma is eight times higher than the rate via thermal calcination. A perfect hexagonal pore structure was obtained after the template removal using the plasma, according to the characterization using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen adsorption analyses. The effectiveness of the plasma prepared mesoporous MCM-41 molecular sieve as the catalyst support has been confirmed using the Suzuki reaction with palladium as the active species.