An amino acid ionic
liquid tetramethylammonium glycinate ([N1111][Gly]) and
an organic supramolecular gelator N-lauroyl-l-glutamic acid di-n-butylamide
(GP-1) were used as structure-directing agents for the fabrication
of mesoporous alumina with diverse morphologies via a solvothermal
synthetic method. The irregular sheets and hierarchical clusters were
respectively prepared with only [N1111][Gly] or GP-1/EW
as the template, whereas a distinct cactus rod-like morphology with
interlaced lateral plates was constructed with [N1111][Gly]
and GP-1 as the cotemplate. The cotemplate synergistic effects of
[N1111][Gly] and GP-1 on the morphology tailoring of alumina
have been investigated in depth. A self-assembly mechanism based on
the bilayer arrangement model was proposed to be responsible for the
formation of final cactus rod-like alumina. The intermolecular H-bonds
between the GP-1 molecule and [N1111][Gly]-AlOOH hybrids
was found to be the main driving force for the axial growth of initial
nanocrystals, and the growth of the nanocrystals in lateral orientation
was inhibited due to the stereohindrance effect of [N1111][Gly].
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