Self-assembly of block copolymer and zeolite Y precursors is an important way to prepare well-ordered mesoporous aluminosilicates (MAs). However, when the concentration of block copolymer is high (low amount of water), the cooperative templating mechanism (which bases the coordination of the inorganic precursor with micelles) is disturbed and well-ordered mesoporous structures will not form. A means to obtain hydrothermally stable MAs with decreased water amount is remains a challenging goal. Here, we report a urea additive method to solve this problem. In this procedure, the addition of urea could increase the hydrophilic strength of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) moieties of P123 micelles, which would strengthen their assembly ability. As a result, mesostructured ordering would be improved with greatly decreased water amount. Meanwhile, the P123 utilization efficiency rises. This strategy provides a facile route to synthesize MAs with reduced consumption of water and high P123 utilization efficiency, which is beneficial to industrial application.

Mesoporous aluminosilicates (MAs) with high hydrothermal stability by assembly of zeolite Y precursors have been emerging as the most promising materials for cracking heavy oil molecules. A means to improve utilization efficiency of organic surfactants is of vital importance in synthesis of MAs. In this work, this goal was achieved by the introduction of ionic surfactant micelles in low concentration of copolymer. It is found that the strong interactions between the hydrophobic chain of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) units of P123 lead to the formation of mixed micelles even at low concentration of P123. The self-aggregation of SDS molecules could induced the formation of mixed micelles with a core consisting of SDS micelles with PPO units and a corona of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) units. The mixed surfactants (SDS/P123) exhibited excellent performance for enhancing utilization efficiency of P123. This strategy developed a novel route for synthesis of MAs with high efficiency and low-cost.

Mesoporous aluminosilicates (MAs) with excellent hydrothermal stability have been a growing interest because of their potential application in face-centered cubic. The process of improving the P123 utilization efficiency and reducing the water consumption is an important issue for the synthesis and application of MAs. In this study, trace amounts of alcohol ether sulphate (AES) being the co-template were introduced into high P123 concentration to synthesize MAs. The water consumption is reduced 77.3%, and P123 utilization efficiency is increased 1.2 times in comparison to that of the conventional method. In high P123 concentration solution, micelle aggregates were formed without AES, resulting in the formation of less ordered MAs. However, well-dispersed micelles were formed in the presence of AES, which is beneficial for the subsequent assembling process. In addition, the micellar state corresponding to different AES contents and the influence on physicochemical properties of MAs were discussed.

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