"Tubules-Within-a-Tubule" Hierarchical Order of Mesoporous Molecular Sieves in MCM-41

Ultrabright fluorescent particles via physical encapsulation of fluorescent dyes in mesoporous silica: a mini-review

Harnessing the power of mesoporous silica to encapsulate organic fluorescent dyes has led to the creation of an extraordinary class of nanocomposite photonic materials. These materials stand out for their ability to produce the brightest fluorescent particles known today, surpassing even the luminosity of quantum dots of similar spectrum and size. The synthesis of these materials offers precise control over the shape and size of the particles, ranging from the nano to the multi-micron scale. Just physical encapsulation of the dyes opens new possibilities for mixing different dyes within individual particles, paving the way for nearly limitless multiplexing capabilities. Moreover, this approach lays the groundwork for the development of highly sensitive sensors capable of detecting subtle changes in temperature and acidity at the nanoscale, among other parameters. This mini-review highlights the mechanism of synthesis, explains the nature of ultrabrightness, and describes the recent advancements and future prospects in the field of ultrabright fluorescent mesoporous silica particles, showcasing their potential for various applications.

Synthesis of Microporous Aluminosilicate by Direct Thermal Activation of Phenyl-Substituted Single-Source Aluminosilicate Molecular Precursors

The construction of aluminosilicates from versatile molecular precursors (MPs) represents a promising alternative strategy to conventional processes based on monomeric molecular or polymeric Al and Si sources. However, the use of MPs often suffers from drawbacks such as the decomposition of the core structures in the presence of solvents, acids, or bases. In this work, we demonstrate a simple thermal synthesis of porous aluminosilicates from single-source spiro-7-type MPs that consist of a tetrahedral Al atom and six Si atoms functionalized with 12 phenyl (Ph) groups, (C⁺)[Al{Ph₂Si(OSiPh₂O)₂}₂]^- (C⁺[AlSi₆]^-; C⁺ = pyridinium cation (PyH⁺), Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, or Cs⁺), without using a solvent or activator. Microporous aluminosilicates synthesized via the thermal treatment of C⁺[AlSi₆]^- under a 79% N₂ + 21% O₂ atmosphere exhibited extremely low carbon contents (0.10-1.28%), together with Si/Al ratios of 3.9-6.7 ± 0.2 and surface areas of 103.1-246.3 m²/g. The solid-state ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si MAS NMR spectra suggest that the obtained aluminosilicates with alkali cations retain a tetrahedral Al site derived from the spiro-7-type core structure. After a proton-exchange reaction, the aluminosilicates showed almost 1.5 times higher reactivity in the catalytic ring-opening of styrene oxide than the aluminosilicate before proton exchange due to the catalytically active OH site being predominantly bridged by tetrahedral Al and Si atoms. These results suggest that the present MP strategy is a promising method for the introduction of key structures into active inorganic materials.

Fabrication, functionalization and advanced applications of magnetic hollow materials in confined catalysis and environmental remediation

Magnetic hollow-structured functional hybrid materials with unique architectures and preeminent properties have always been an area of extensive research. They represent a subtle collaboration of hollow architecture, mesoporous nanostructure and magnetic character. Owing to the merits of a large void space, low density, high specific surface area, well-defined active sites and facile magnetic recovery, these materials present promising application projections in numerous fields, such as drug delivery, adsorption, storage, catalysis and many others. In this review, recent progress in the design, synthesis, functionalization and applications of magnetic hollow-meso/nanostructured materials are discussed. The first part of the review has been dedicated to the preparation and functionalization of the materials. The synthetic protocols have been broadly classified into template-assisted and template-free methods and major trends in their synthesis have been elaborated in detail. Furthermore, the benefits and drawbacks of each method are compared. The later part summarizes the application aspects of confined catalysis in organic transformations and environmental remediation such as degradation of organic pollutants, dyes and antibiotics and adsorption of heavy metal ions. Finally, an outlook of future directions in this research field is highlighted.

Nanometer Confinement-Driven Promotion and Stabilization of a Hexatic Phase Intervening between Ordered Rotator Phases

Bulk phase binary mixture of two rotator phase forming alkanes, n-tricosane (C₂₃H₄₈) and n-octacosane (C₂₈H₅₈), has been previously studied. C₂₃H₄₈ exists in the R_II and R_I phases, whereas C₂₈H₅₈ exists in the R_III and R_IV phases. Over a certain range of composition, this binary mixture was found to exist in R_II, R_I and an intervening mesophase was reported to be the hexatic phase, wherein the long-range two-dimensional in-plane hexagonal lattice order of the R_II is lost and what remains is molecules present in hexagonal geometry without long-range positional correlation between individual hexagons. Upon confinement in cylindrical anodized alumina pores 200 nm wide, on the one hand, the temperature range of the hexatic phase was found to extend, and on the other hand, it underwent increased molecular ordering compared to the hexatic phase in bulk, exhibiting two counter-reacting behaviors in confinement. We provide here a temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction study and a theoretical approach combining the Landau and Flory-Huggins theories to, first, understand the underlying mechanism leading to emergence of the hexatic phase and then to explain the effect of confinement on it in the light of finite size and interfacial interaction between the alkanes and alumina pores.

A Self-Growing Strategy for Large-Scale Crystal Assembly Tubes

Assembled tubular materials have attracted widespread attention due to their potential applications in catalysis, bionics, and optic-electronics. Many versatile methods, including template assistance and self-assembly, have been developed for fabrication of tubular materials. Here we demonstrate a self-growing strategy to prepare large-scale crystal assembly tubes. Addition of the template and the need for the sophisticated equipment are avoided with this method. The sidewall of the tubes is composed of a layer of polyhedral crystals that are connected together through grain coalescence. We demonstrate that the assembled tubular structure is obtained by the synergetic effect of the passivation layer and the dissolution-recrystallization process. This facile one-step strategy and the formation mechanism will offer guidance for fabrication of new superstructures.

Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery by gas bubbles generated from a chemical reaction

Highly echogenic and ultrasound-responsive microbubbles such as nitrogen and perfluorocarbons have been exploited as ultrasound-mediated drug carriers. Here, we propose an innovative method for drug delivery using microbubbles generated from a chemical reaction. In a novel drug delivery system, luminol encapsulated in folate-conjugated bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (Fol-BSAN) can generate nitrogen gas (N₂) by chemical reaction when it reacts with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), one of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS plays an important role in the initiation and progression of cancer and elevated ROS have been observed in cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. High-intensity focussed ultrasound (HIFU) is used to burst the N₂ microbubbles, causing site-specific delivery of anticancer drugs such as methotrexate. In this research, the drug delivery system was optimised by using water-soluble luminol and Mobil Composition of Matter-41 (MCM-41), a mesoporous material, so that the delivery system was sensitive to micromolar concentrations of H₂O₂. HIFU increased the drug release from Fol-BSAN by 52.9 ± 2.9% in 10 minutes. The cytotoxicity of methotrexate was enhanced when methotrexate is delivered to MDA-MB-231, a metastatic human breast cancer cell line, using Fol-BSAN with HIFU. We anticipate numerous applications of chemically generated microbubbles for ultrasound-mediated drug delivery.

Hierarchically structured nanoporous carbon tubes for high pressure carbon dioxide adsorption

Mesoscopic, nanoporous carbon tubes were synthesized by a combination of the Stoeber process and the use of electrospun macrosized polystyrene fibres as structure directing templates. The obtained carbon tubes have a macroporous nature characterized by a thick wall structure and a high specific surface area of approximately 500 m²/g resulting from their micro- and mesopores. The micropore regime of the carbon tubes is composed of turbostratic graphitic areas observed in the microstructure. The employed templating process was also used for the synthesis of silicon carbide tubes. The characterization of all porous materials was performed by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The adsorption of carbon dioxide on the carbon tubes at 25 °C at pressures of up to 30 bar was studied using a volumetric method. At 26 bar, an adsorption capacity of 4.9 mmol/g was observed. This is comparable to the adsorption capacity of molecular sieves and vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. The high pressure adsorption process of CO2 was found to irreversibly change the microporous structure of the carbon tubes.

A facile template route to periodic mesoporous organosilicas nanospheres with tubular structure by using compressed CO2

Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) nanospheres with tubular structure were prepared with compressed CO₂ using cationic and anionic mixed surfactant (CTAB/SDS) and triblock copolymer Pluronic P123 as bi-templates. TEM, N₂ adsorption-desorption, solid NMR, and FTIR were employed to characterize the obtained materials. Compressed CO₂ severed as acidic reagent to promote the hydrolysis of organosilicas, and could tune the morphology and structure of the obtained PMOs nanomaterials simple by adjusting the CO₂ pressure during the synthesis process. Rhodamine B (RB) and Ibuprofen (IBU), as the model dye and drug, were loaded into the prepared nanomaterials to reveal its adsorption and desorption ability. Furthermore, different molars of the surfactant (CTAB/SDS) and organosilane precursor (BTEB) were investigated to show the effect of the surfactant concentration on the morphology and structure of the PMOs prepared with compressed CO₂, and some different structures were obtained. A possible mechanism for the synthesis of PMOs with tubular structure using compressed CO₂ was proposed based on the experimental results.

Synthesis of Silica Nanotube Using Myelin Figure as Template and their Formation Mechanism

Silica nanotubes are synthesized through a sol-gel reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) using myelin figures of Pluronic P123 as the structure-directing agent. The simultaneous progression of the formation of molecular assemblies that act as templates and the formation of silica frameworks though a sol-gel reaction of the silica precursor is a characteristic of this reaction system. The synthesized silica nanotubes were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The silica nanotubes were unilamellar with diameters of approximately 30 nm, membrane thicknesses of approximately 10 nm, and lengths exceeding a few hundred nanometers. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area was 589.46 m(2)/g. Silica nanotubes can also be obtained using other Pluronic surfactants that can form myelin figures. In this work, we also investigated the formation mechanism of the silica nanotubes. The typical diameter of a myelin figure is a few tens of micrometers. However, myelin figures with diameters of approximately 10 µm can form in systems with TEOS because bifurcation is induced by minute silica nuclei that form during the initial reaction between TEOS and water. Freeze fracture TEM (FF-TEM) observations revealed the existence of myelin figures with diameters of 20 to 30 nm, which are the same size and shape as the synthesized silica nanotubes. These results indicate that bifurcation of the myelin figures is induced by the silica nuclei that form via the initial reaction of TEOS, which result in the formation of bifurcated myelin figures with diameters of ~10 µm. Myelin figures with diameters of 20 to 30 nm form on the surface, and they become templates where the reaction of TEOS progresses to form silica nanotubes with diameters of approximately 30 nm.

Mesoporous titanosilicate nanoparticles: facile preparation and application in heterogeneous epoxidation of cyclohexene

Mesoporous titanosilicate nanoparticles were hydrothermally synthesized from a titanosilicate solution with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the template and with a cationic polymer as the size-controlling agent.

Transcription of G-quartet supramolecular aggregates into hierarchical mesoporous silica nanotubes

Hierarchical porous silica nanotubes or porous silica hollow spheres were prepared employing a low concentration of G-quartet supramolecular aggregates as a template.

Solvent-Free MgO-Functionalized Mesoporous Catalysts for Jatropha Oil Transesterification

A convenient solvent-free technique was employed in the functionalization of Micelle-Templated Silica using Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (MTS-CNSL) as a template and magnesium nitrate as a precursor salt. Magnesium oxide species was highly dispersed in MTS-CNSL by manually grinding the precursor salt and the as-synthesized mesoporous silica followed by calcination. The resultant modified mesoporous silicas MgO/MTS-CNSL were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR, N2adsorption/desorption), and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX). MgO/MTS-CNSL (30) having small specific surface area of 16.7 m2/g and larger pore volume of 0.02 cm3/g, presented higher activity of 81.45% for jatropha oil under optimized conditions (200°C, 4 h, 36 : 1 methanol : oil ratio, 500 rpm, and 6% wt of catalyst). This method of catalyst development has an advantage of being highly energy- and time-efficient.

Formation of uniform hollow nanocages with heteroatom-doped MCM-41 structures

Monodispersed heteroatom-doped hollow nanocages with MCM-41 structures are synthesized by reacting nanosized MCM-41 seeds with in situ coated heteroatomic species.

Hollow-structured mesoporous materials: chemical synthesis, functionalization and applications

Hollow-structured mesoporous materials (HMMs), as a kind of mesoporous material with unique morphology, have been of great interest in the past decade because of the subtle combination of the hollow architecture with the mesoporous nanostructure. Benefitting from the merits of low density, large void space, large specific surface area, and, especially, the good biocompatibility, HMMs present promising application prospects in various fields, such as adsorption and storage, confined catalysis when catalytically active species are incorporated in the core and/or shell, controlled drug release, targeted drug delivery, and simultaneous diagnosis and therapy of cancers when the surface and/or core of the HMMs are functionalized with functional ligands and/or nanoparticles, and so on. In this review, recent progress in the design, synthesis, functionalization, and applications of hollow mesoporous materials are discussed. Two main synthetic strategies, soft-templating and hard-templating routes, are broadly sorted and described in detail. Progress in the main application aspects of HMMs, such as adsorption and storage, catalysis, and biomedicine, are also discussed in detail in this article, in terms of the unique features of the combined large void space in the core and the mesoporous network in the shell. Functionalization of the core and pore/outer surfaces with functional organic groups and/or nanoparticles, and their performance, are summarized in this article. Finally, an outlook of their prospects and challenges in terms of their controlled synthesis and scaled application is presented.

Pseudomorphic transformation of amorphous silica microtubes into mesoporous MCM-41 type silica tubes. Synthesis, characterization and surface functionalization with titania, vanadia and zirconia

Silica tubes with MCM-41 type mesostructures were successfully synthesized by a combination of the Stoeber process and a pseudomorphic transformation using electrospun macrosized polystyrene fibres as structure directing templates. Two different morphologies of mesoporous silica tubes are accessible with this method: a hollow morphology with tunable silica wall thickness and with a mesoporous silica shell structure and a core containing amorphous silica. All one dimensional tube like porous silica materials have a high specific surface area of approximately 1000 m(2) g(-1) with well-ordered hexagonal mesopores. Grafting of Ti, V and Zr metallocene dichloride molecular complexes has been employed resulting in the deposition of titanium-, vanadium-, zirconium-oxide in the interior of the silica tubes after ceramisation of the green body composites. The respective oxides were coated on top of the inner mesoporous silica surface of the tubes. Such silica based hybrids might be potential support materials in heterogeneous catalysis (e.g. vanadia) as well as interesting catalysts for photocatalysis (for TiO(2), ZrO(2)). All materials were characterised by X-ray diffraction (SAXS and XRD), nitrogen adsorption at 77 K, UV/VIS diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

A comparative study on long-term MTX controlled release from intercalated nanocomposites for nanomedicine applications

The feasibility of some mesoporous materials such as SBA-15 and MCM-41 silica, LDH (layered double hydroxide) (Mg3Al-NO3) and MC (mesoporous carbon) have been comparatively evaluated for oral drug delivery applications, in order to broaden the range of matrices and implicitly to develop the class of drug delivery systems based on diffusion mechanism. As well known, methotrexate (MTX) is used widely to treat various neoplastic diseases such as acute lymphoblast leukemia, lymphoma and solid cancers and autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. The commercially available formulations of this drug have disadvantages due to the traditional release process that occurs in the body. Thus, this work is focused on the long-term controlled MTX delivery because this one could eliminate over or underdosing, could maintain drug levels in desired range, could increase patient compliance and prevent the side effects. Therefore, the mesoporous materials are used and efficient MTX-delivery systems, based on above-mentioned mesoporous materials, are successfully prepared by intercalation. The obtained drug carriers were tested in the controlled MTX-drug release process and the influence of the pore morphology and geometry on MTX release profiles was extensively studied comparatively. The prepared MTX delivery systems were characterized by FTIR and UV-vis spectroscopy, N2 sorption measurements. Then, the data obtained from the in vitro release studies have been analyzed, and in order to evaluate the MTX-release mechanism and kinetics, the Korsmeyer-Peppas equation has been applied.

Templating effect of mesostructured surfactant-silica monolithic films on the surface structural and mechanical properties

Mesostructured surfactant-silica monolithic films were prepared using a supramolecular templating method. The effect of the templating in the monolithic films on the interfacial interactions was evaluated and elucidated using the atomic force microscope techniques combined with other surface analyses to produce different surface structures and force curves depending on the surfactants. The transparent and flexible surfactant-silica monolithic films were prepared to exhibit the ordered nanostructures. The monolithic films templated by nonionic triblock copolymers (poly(ethylene oxide (EO))--poly(propylene oxide (PO))--poly(ethylene oxide (EO))) of EO₂₀PO₇₀EO₂₀ (P123) and EO₁₀₆PO₇₀EO₁₀₆ (F127) significantly exhibited flat surfaces and the higher viscoelastic properties which were supported by surface stiffness and adhesive force, whereas the monolithic film by cationic alkylammonium surfactant indicated a rough surface and the plastic deformation property by application of force. This indicated that the higher molecular weight of the EO and PO phases enhanced the phase segregation in the silica surfaces due to the higher solubility differences between both blocks to consolidate the surfactant-silica interfacial interactions. Therefore, the different surface structural and mechanical properties attributed to the interfacial organic-inorganic interaction patterns were successfully clarified.

EVAPORATION DRIVEN SELF ASSEMBLY OF NANOPARTICLES DURING SPRAY DRYING: VOLUME FRACTION DEPENDENT PACKING

Hierarchically structured micrometric mesoporous silica spheres have been synthesized by evaporation driven self assembly of silica colloids under slow drying condition. The inter particle correlation inside grains has been investigated by small-angle neutron scattering. In a slow drying regime, droplets shrink isotropically leading to spherical dried grains. However, the packing of nanoparticles depends on the initial colloidal concentration. The packing of the nanoparticles for low colloidal concentration is uniform throughout the grain but at higher concentration of the colloids, dried grains possess nonuniform radial packing of the nano-particles. The average packing fraction of the nanoparticles decreases with increasing colloidal concentration due to modification in viscosity of the colloidal dispersion prior to drying.

Synthesis of double mesoporous core-shell silica spheres with tunable core porosity and their drug release and cancer cell apoptosis properties

In this work, we demonstrate a simple two-pot approach to double mesoporous core-shell silica spheres (DMCSSs) with uniform size of 245-790 nm, shell thickness of 41-80 nm and surface area and total pore volume of 141-618 m(2) g(-1) and 0.14-0.585 cc g(-1), respectively. First, solid silica spherical particles were synthesized by the Stöber method and used as a core. Second, a mesoporous shell could be formed around the silica cores by using an anionic surfactant and a co-structure directing agent. It was found that mesopores can be anchored within dense silica cores during mesoporous silica shell formation, synchronously the base group with surfactant assistant can etch the dense silica cores to re-organize new mesostructure, so that double mesoporous core-shell silica sphere (DMCSS) structure can be obtained by a single surfactant-templating step. The spherical size and porosity of the silica cores of DMCSS together with shell thickness can be tuned by controlling Stöber parameters, including the concentrations of ammonia, solvent and tetraethoxysilane and the reaction time. DMCSS were loaded with ketoprofen and thymoquinone, which are an anti-inflammatory and a potential novel anti-cancer drug, respectively. Both drugs showed controlled release behavior from the pores of DMCSS. Drug uptakes within DMCSS were ~27 and 81 wt.% for ketoprofen and thymoquinone, respectively. Furthermore, DMCSS loaded with thymoquinone was more effective in inducing cancer cell apoptosis than uncontained thymoquinone, because of the slow release of the drug from the mesoporous structure.

Hierarchical mesoporous silica nanotubes derived from natural cellulose substance

Bioinspired synthesis of hierarchical mesoporous silica nanotubes by using natural cellulose substance (filter paper) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles as dual templates was achieved. CTAB micelles were adsorbed onto the surfaces of ultrathin titania film precoated cellulose nanofibers, followed by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate around these micelles to form silica. After calcination and sulfuric acid treatment to remove the organic templates and the thin titania film, bulk white sheets composed of natural hierarchical silica nanotubes with mesopores in the walls were obtained, to which silver nanoparticles were further induced to give a silica-nanotube/metal-nanoparticle hybrid.

Evaporation-induced self assembly of nanoparticles in non-buckling regime: volume fraction dependent packing

Hierarchically structured micrometric spheres are synthesized by evaporation-induced self assembly of silica colloids using spray drying technique. Packing of nanoparticles during drying of droplets is an important issue. The motivation of the present work is to investigate the effects of concentration of initial colloidal dispersion on the packing of the nanoparticles in assembled grains in non-buckling regime of drying. It has been observed that the packing of nanoparticles inside the dried grains, even in the non-buckling regime, varies significantly with concentration. Although, the packing of nanoparticles remains uniform in an assembled grain at smaller concentration, the same becomes non-uniform at higher concentration. Further, the average packing fraction of the nanoparticles within the assembled grains, decreases with increasing colloidal concentration. These observations have been attributed to the modification in viscosity of the initial dispersion. Electron microscopy, light scattering measurements have been performed to probe overall morphology of the dried grains, while inter-particle correlation inside the grains has been investigated by small angle neutron scattering.