Particle Size and Dispersity Control by Means of Gelatin for High-Yield Mesoporous Silica Nanospheres

Abstract

A facile route for the synthesis of high-yield mesoporous silica nanospheres (MSNs) is reported. This route involves the use of gelatin as a particle suppressant and dispersant. Gelatin has been observed to hinder the growth of the mesoporous silica particles and helps to control the size of spherical particles from micrometer scale (0.14–0.66 μm) to nanosize (34–82 nm) by promoting the mass ratio of gelatin to template agent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), from 0 to 1.0. Moreover, no particle agglomeration was detected because of the excellent dispersion effect of gelatin. MSN has a high specific surface area (1409 m2 g–1) and a large pore volume (0.939 cm3 g–1). It is proposed that the evolution of the size and dispersity of the MSN particles strongly depends on the interaction between gelatin, CTAB, and silica source in the synthetic system.