Abstract
In the past decades, ionic liquids (ILs) have garnered a lot of attention especially in the field of green chemistry due to their unique properties which help to solve the problems posed by organic solvents. Interestingly, their applications are not limited to that only as ILs have the potential to become alternative templates in the development of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). This work reported the usage of a series of pyridinium ILs as template in the synthesis of monodispersed mesoporous silica nanosphere (MNSs) via two methods. Both syntheses utilize triethanolamine (TEA) as the base catalyst where in one method the TEA undergoes pre-treatment process while the other did not. Besides that, the effects of pyridinium ILs alkyl chain length were also investigated. MNSs generated via both methods exhibit spherical morphology and decreasing average particles size with increasing alkyl chain length of pyridinium ILs. The MNSs porosity were further analyzed through nitrogen sorption analysis where the surface area were in between 71.85 and 525.02 m2 g−1 and the pore volume was up to 1 cm3 g−1.
Highlights
Since the discovery of ordered mesoporous silica in the 1990s, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have garnered a lot of attention
We proposed that the mesoporous silica nanospheres (MNSs) were formed via chargedmechanism where the charge matching occur between the cationic template (S+) and silicate oligomers (I−) to form the S+I− assembly [2]
Monodispersed MNSs have been successfully synthesized using a series of pyridinium ionic liquids (ILs) via two methods
Summary
Since the discovery of ordered mesoporous silica in the 1990s, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have garnered a lot of attention. The tremendous attentions on MSNs are due to its desirable properties such as high surface area, large pore volume and easy functionalization [2, 3] This material can be tailored according to the type of applications and some of the common applications of this material are as catalyst, absorbent, in separation techniques and in the biomedical industry [1, 4,5,6]. Haynes et al utilizes this modified Stöber method in developing monodispersed MSNs by controlling the particles size with manipulation of the temperature, amount of TEOS and amount of ammonia [11,12,13]. Bein et al reported on the use of triethanolamine (TEA) as the base for the reaction as it would act as the catalyst and encapsulator in developing
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
