Abstract
The ability to organize, separate and manipulate individual molecules and ions on a surface opens up almost unlimited opportunities. However, it often requires complex techniques and a proper support material. With this in mind, we show a new concept of 2D solid solvents and review a simple and efficient procedure which is based on nanostructured forms of silica with anchoring units. We describe silica supports, such as spherical nanoparticles and mesoporous silica structures, as well as review the methods for chemical modification of the surface of silica with the functional groups. Finally, we present a few particular examples of the immobilization of molecules and ions on the surface of 2D solid solvents along with the experimental investigation of the obtained materials.
Highlights
On 29 December 1959, American physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman gave a presentation entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech [1]
We focused on various methods of the synthesis and showed how silica surface could be modified with the use of different classes of organic and silica-organic compounds
We presented what kind of functional molecules allow for homogenous immobilization of ions or molecules at a surface converting silica into a 2D solid solvent
Summary
On 29 December 1959, American physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman gave a presentation entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech [1]. Such a phenomenon can be observed on the surface of surfactant solutions in which surfactant molecules are capable of the formation of a floating monolayer at the interface This layer, under compression, can self-organize and undergo several phase changes similar to the three dimensional gaseous, liquid and solid states (Figure 2a) [4,5]. For the definition a “2D solid solvent”, we use a different term describing our approach to the problem of a solid matrix to control the distribution of molecules and the distances between them This term can be understood as an inert solid material being able to immobilize ions or molecules on its surface and keep them separated with an assumed concentration. We show an overview of possible functional units and the procedures of the functionalization of silica
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