The manuscript describes the influence of the template removal method on the mechanical stability of SBA-15. First, the mechanical stability of calcined SBA-15 was investigated similar to known procedures from literature. The results of the literature were reproduced and confirmed. The main part of the manuscript deals with the mechanical stability of SBA-15, whose pores were opened in different ways - calcination, Soxhlet extraction with ethanol, and Soxhlet extraction with ethanol combined with a thermal treatment in nitrogen. The data used for the manuscript are sorted by the respective characterization method. The data are named according to the sample name (for nomenclature see Notes). The data of the SAXS measurement are sorted by the measurement date. All data are raw data that can be processed with the corresponding software.

Sample nomenclature: SBA-15-as: directly after the synthesis; called as-synthesized SBA-15 SBA-15-calc: pores were opened by calcination in air SBA-15-calc-XMPa: pores were opened by calcination, and the sample was pressed with 8 to 156 MPa; abbreviated with “XMPa” depending on the pressure X SBA-15-calc-re: pores were refilled with Pluronic® P123 SBA-15-calc-re-E: pores were reopened with Soxhlet extraction with ethanol SBA-15-as-E: pores were opened with Soxhlet extraction with ethanol SBA-15-as-E-p400: SBA-15-as-E pretreated in N2 at 400°C SBA-15-as-E-p550: SBA-15-as-E pretreated in N2 at 550°C

File names from SAXS data: The small-anlge X-ray scattering device SAXSess mc2 uses a slit-colimated X-ray beam. Due to this, scattering at the sample leads to a smeared scattering profile with asymmetric scattering maxima. This "smearing" can be removed mathematically by deconvolution of the meassured scattering profile and the intensity profile of the slit-colimated X-ray beam. Thus treated datasets are indicated by the fileextension "deconvoluted".