By templation via in-situ sol-gel transformation, with calcination (410 ℃) to remove the colloidal crystals, three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ (PW₁₂)-SiO₂ functional-ized materials with different PW₁₂/SiO₂ molar ratios in a range of 1/10～1/40 were prepared. The nature of the functionalized materials has been characterized by SEM, N₂ adsorption, XRD and FTIR techniques. The results revealed that the macropores were ar-rayed highly periodically and connected with one another by small windows. The walls of the macropores were of microporous configuration. H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ was chemically combined with the support and still maintained its primary Keggin structure. The acidity of the materials showed a change with a volcano curve as PW₁₂ loading increased. High catalytic activity could be found with the samples for the alkylation of benzene with 1-dodecene, and their catalytic activity also demonstrated a similar change to the acidity. A significant recyclability could also be observed with the catalyst: having been reused for 4 times, it retained 78% reactivity compared with the fresh one.

Key words: H₃PW₁₂O₄₀, 3DOM material, SiO₂, polystyrene colloid crystal, alkylbenzene