Synthesis and morphological characterisation of mesoporous biosilica from oil palm male inflorescence

With the increasing demand for mesoporous silica in various applications couple with the high cost of silica precursors and the environmental implications associated with the synthetic mesoporous silica, there is a pressing need for sustainable alternatives. Consequently, this study sought to synthesize mesoporous biosilica from oil palm male inflorescence. The preparation was performed in ethanol-water and propanol-water systems using CTAB as the pore-directing agent. The structural and surface morphological characteristics of the synthesized aggregated mesoporous biosilica were characterized using optical microscopy, FTIR, EDX, SEM, XRD, and BET. FTIR revealed structural bonding (Si–O–Si, Si-OH, and O-H groups), while EDX indicated elemental compositions. Optical microscopy and SEM images revealed irregular shapes and sizes across different quantities of CTAB, indicating that the surface of mesoporous biosilica can be tailored for certain applications, akin to synthetic mesoporous silica. XRD indicated a high degree of amorphous characteristics with crystallinity ranging from 3 to 10%. BET analysis revealed that mesoporous biosilica synthesized in ethanol-water and propanol-water systems exhibited average pore volumes of 0.6193 and 0.5722 cm³/g, respectively, and an average pore diameter of 10–14 nm. These findings highlight the potential of mesoporous biosilica derived from oil palm male inflorescence as viable alternative to synthetic mesoporous silica, with potential applications in catalysis, pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, and engineering.