<![CDATA[Indonesia is the country that produces the most palm oil worldwide, generating large amounts of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) waste containing silica. The use of EFB waste as a silica precursor offers a sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic sources. Therefore, this study aims to synthesize mesoporous silica from EFB ash via a sol-gel method, using single and mixed surfactant systems, namely, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), Pluronic P123 (P123), and a mixture of CTAB-P123, with a constant mass of 5 grams. The properties of mesoporous silica derived from EFB were characterized using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and nitrogen adsorption‒desorption measurements based on the BET and BJH methods. The results of this study revealed that the use of Pluronic P123 resulted in a specific surface area of 317.085 m²/g, CTAB (519.951 m²/g), and a mixed-surfactant system (496.547 m2/g). The SAXS results revealed that a mixed CTAB-P123 system produced an ordered mesostructure with a distinct peak at q = 0.1005 Å-1, while a single surfactant formed disordered mesopores. These results demonstrate that the type of surfactant performs an essential function in tailoring the mesoporous characteristics of EFB-derived silica.]]>
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