Hard Template Method Research Articles

Sustainable lignin-derived hierarchical mesoporous carbon synthesized by a renewable nano-calcium carbonate hard template method and its utilization in zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors

Research on zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors has been gaining much attention due to the combination of their high energy and power density.

Tumor microenvironment responsive nano-platform for overcoming sorafenib resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor, which seriously jeopardizes human health. The 5-year relative survival rate of HCC is only about 18%. Sorafenib, a small molecule multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (MTKI), has been classified as the first-line treatment scheme for HCC and has significantly extended the median survival time for patients with advanced HCC. Nevertheless, the emergence of sorafenib resistance has substantially hampered its further clinical application. Herein, the nano-platform based on phototherapy and small molecular targeted therapy (SMTT) was devised to overcome the sorafenib resistance and reduce the adverse effects. Hollow mesoporous manganese dioxide (H–MnO2) was prepared by hard template method, and the prepared H–MnO2 was used to load sorafenib and Chlorin e6 (Ce6). Subsequently, the nanoparticle (NPs) were modified with dopamine to optimize biocompatibility. The final prepared NPs (MCS NPs) exhibit regular spherical shape with a hydrated particle size of approximately 97.02 nm. MCS NPs can not only possess tumor microenvironment (TME) stimuli-responsive drug release performance but also can enhance the efficacy of photodynamic therapy and reverse sorafenib resistance by alleviating tumor hypoxia. Under the action of phototherapy (Ce6) combined with molecular targeted therapy (sorafenib), MCS NPs manifest a satisfactory antitumor effect for sorafenib-sensitive or sorafenib-resistant HCC cells, and retain the antiangiogenic properties of sorafenib. In the nude mouse subcutaneous tumor model constructed with sorafenib-resistant cells, MCS NPs demonstrated superior tumor imaging ability and excellent biocompatibility. The tumor inhibition rate of the MCS NPs group without laser irradiation was 53.4 %, while the MCS NPs group with laser irradiation was as high as 100 %. The novel smart TME-responsive nano-platform shows great potential for overcoming sorafenib resistance and realizes multimodality imaging and therapy of HCC.

Construction and performance evaluation of pH-responsive oxidized hyaluronic acid hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles

In this study, hollow mesoporous silica (HMSN) was created to facilitate drug distribution using the hard template method. The oxidized hyaluronic acid (oxiHA) was coated on the carrier surface by the Schiff base reaction, producing the pH-responsive nanoparticles HMSNs-DOX-oxiHA targeted by CD44 and preventing drug leakage from mesopores. The prepared nanoparticles had a size of 151.79 ± 13.52 nm and a surface potential of −8.42 ± 0.48 mV. The rich mesoporous structure and internal cavity of HMSNs-NH2 achieved the effective encapsulation and loading rates of doxorubicin (DOX) at 76.84 ± 0.24 % and 18.73 ± 0.05 %, respectively. Owing to the pH sensitivity of imine bonds, HMSNs-DOX-oxiHA has a good pH response and release performance. The in vitro experiments showed that the nanoparticles were not cytotoxic and could enhance HCT-116 uptake efficiency by hyaluronic acid/CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis, effectively inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and reducing toxic side effects on normal cells. In summary, the polysaccharide-based nano-drug delivery system constructed in this experiment not only has the basic response properties of a carrier but also introduces the bioactive advantages of natural polysaccharides.

Preparation and properties of mesoporous SiO2/polyimide composite films

AbstractAlthough polyimide films have a low dielectric constant, with the advent of the 5G era, the dielectric properties of the material are required to be further improved. Therein, we prepared controlled hollow mesoporous SiO2 nanomicrospheres by the hard template method to make mesoporous low dielectric polyimide films. The composite membrane exhibits better thermal stability, mechanical properties, and hydrophobicity compared to the pure membrane. Hollow mesoporous SiO2 dispersed in polyimide can reduce the inhomogeneity of charge distribution between molecules and reduce the interaction between polar chemical bonds and aromatic rings, thus improving the dielectric properties of the whole film. The minimum dielectric constant of the composite films was 2.80 when the hollow mesoporous SiO2 was added at 1.0%. These results fully indicate that the addition of hollow mesoporous SiO2 is beneficial to the multifaceted performance of the polyimide films.Highlights Preparation of hollow mesoporous SiO2 microspheres by using different polystyrene microsphere solutions and TEOS ratios. Synthesis of composite films with different contents of hollow mesoporous SiO2 as functional fillers. The effect of hollow mesoporous SiO2 content on the mechanical properties and thermal stability of PI composite films was investigated. Addition of hollow mesoporous SiO2 reduces the dielectric constant of polyimide composite films.

Synthesis of nanoporous carbonaceous materials at lower temperatures.

Nanoporous carbonaceous materials are ideal ingredients in various industrial products due to their large specific surface area. They are typically prepared by post-synthesis activation and templating methods. Both methods require the input of large amounts of energy to sustain thermal treatment at high temperatures (typically >600°C), which is clearly in violation of the green-chemistry principles. To avoid this issue, other strategies have been developed for the synthesis of carbonaceous materials at lower temperatures (<600°C). This mini review is focused on three strategies suitable for processing carbons at lower temperatures, namely, hydrothermal carbonization, in situ hard templating method, and mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction. Typical procedures of these strategies are demonstrated by using recently reported examples. At the end, some problems associated with the strategies and potential solutions are discussed.

Highly porous cerium oxide prepared via a one-step hard template method as an extremely effective adsorbent for arsenic species removal from water

Highly porous cerium oxide prepared via a one-step hard template method as an extremely effective adsorbent for arsenic species removal from water

MRI Directed Magnevist Effective to Study Toxicity of Gd-Doped Mesoporous Carbon Nanoparticles in Mice Model.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been a valuable and widely used examination technique in clinical diagnosis and prognostic efficacy evaluation. The introduction of MRI contrast agent (CA) improves its sensitivity obviously, particularly with the development of nano-CA, which presents higher contrast enhancement ability. However, systematical evaluation of their toxicity is still limited, hampering their further translation in clinics. In this paper, to systematically evaluate the toxicity of nano-CA, Gd-doped mesoporous carbon nanoparticles (Gd-MCNs) prepared by a one-step hard template method were introduced as a model and clinically used MRI CA, Magnevist (Gd-DTPA) as control. Their in vitro blood compatibility, cellular toxicity, DNA damage, oxidative stress, inflammation response as well as in vivo toxicity and MR imaging behaviors were studied and compared. The experimental results showed that compared with Gd-DTPA, Gd-MCNs displayed negligible influence on the red blood cell shape, aggregation, BSA structure, macrophage morphology and mitochondrial function. Meanwhile, limited ROS and inflammatory cytokine production also illustrated the cellular compatibility of Gd-MCNs. For in vivo toxicity evaluation, Gd-MCNs presented acceptable in vivo biosafety even under 12 times injection for 12 weeks. More importantly, at the same concentration of Gd, Gd-MCNs displayed better contrast enhancement of tumor than Gd-DTPA, mainly coming from its high MRI relaxation rate which is nearly 9 times that of Gd-DTPA. In this paper, we focus on the toxicity evaluation of MRI nano-CA, Gd-MCNs from different angles. With Gd-DTPA as control, Gd-MCNs appeared to be highly biocompatible and safe nanoparticles that possessed promising potentials for the use of MRI nano-CA. In the future, more research on the long-term genotoxicity and the fate of nanoparticles after being swallowed should be performed.

A Gram Scale Soft-Template Synthesis of Heteroatom Doped Nanoporous Hollow Carbon Spheres for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Heteroatom-doped nanoporous carbon materials with unique hierarchical structures have been shown to be promising supports and catalysts for energy conversion; however, hard-template methods are limited by their inflexibility and time-consuming process. Soft-template methods have been suggested as an alternative, but they are limited by their picky requirements for stable reactions and the few known precursors for small-batch synthesis. In this study, a gram-scale soft-template-based silica-assisted method was investigated for producing nitrogen-doped hollow nanoporous carbon spheres (N-HNCS). Nitrogen doping is accomplished during preparation with enhanced electrocatalytic activity without complicating the methodology. To investigate the effect of the unique structural characteristics of N-HNCS (specific surface area: 1250 m2 g-1; pore volume: 1.2 cm3 g-1), cobalt was introduced as an active center for the oxygen reduction reaction. Finely tuned reaction conditions resulted in well-dispersed cobalt particles with minimal agglomeration. This sheds light on the advancement of new experimental procedures for developing more active and promising non-noble catalysts in large and stable batches.

Electrochemical detection of p-nitrophenol over nickel nanoparticles supported on Longquan lignite-derived mesoporous carbon fabricated by hard template method

The efficient and clean utilization of low-rank lignite conforms the strategy of carbon neutral development. Herein, a two-step strategy of hard template method and co-precipitation method was designed to prepare nickel nanoparticles supported on mesoporous carbon (Nix/MPC) using the residue from the ethanolysis of Longquan lignite for quantitative detection of p-nitrophenol (NP). The electrochemical reduction properties of modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) with different nickel loadings (x = 10, 15, and 20 wt%) for NP were compared, in which Ni15/MPC/GCE stood out and presented better conductivity, larger electrochemical active surface area, and faster electron transfer rate. According to the differential pulse voltammetry detection results, Ni15/MPC/GCE displays satisfactory detection limit (1.8 µM) and far wider detection concentration range (170 ∼ 10000 µM) than other reported electrochemical sensors. Moreover, Ni15/MPC/GCE exhibits acceptable stability and reproducibility, and the relative standard deviation of NP detection current is only 0.71% under the interference of 100-fold concentration interfering substances. Hence, the constructed Ni15/MPC/GCE demonstrates a promising electrochemical sensor for detecting NP in environmental sewage.

Porous B3C3N2 matrix-based electrochemical sensor for sensitive determination of trace cadmium in environmental and tobacco samples

Ternary B3C3N2 nanomaterials were prepared by the hard-template method using melamine (N and C source) and tetraethyl silicate (SiO2 source) as templates, with Cs2[B12H12] as a dopant. The B3C3N2 composite material can synthesise the functional groups of the BCN substrate and the porosity of the acid-etched template, thereby achieving the selective electrochemical detection of Cd(II). Under optimal conditions, the peak current was well linearized with the Cd(II) concentration between 1 and 310 μg/L, while the theoretical detection limit was 0.32 μg/L. The B3C3N2-Nafion sensor exhibits excellent electrode stability and anti-interference ability in addition to being non-toxic and simple to produce. Our research not only bridges the preparation of nonmetallic atom-doped carbon-based materials and in situ etching strategies but also provides a novel demonstration for the detection and application of the heavy metal Cd(II).

Porous Fe-modified CuCeZr catalysts for simultaneous removal of NO and toluene at low-medium temperatures: Promoted activity and SO2 effect on the reaction process

Developing non-vanadium-based SCR catalysts with high performances for simultaneous removal of NO and toluene at low-medium temperatures remains a challenge in addressing SO2 poisoning. Herein, porous Fe-modified CuCeZr catalysts prepared via KIT-6 hard-templating method was conducted to investigate the simultaneous removal of NO and toluene at low-medium temperatures. A suite of experiments and characterizations was systematically used to probe into the effect of SO2 on the reaction process. The results indicated that porous Fe-modified CuCeZr displayed excellent performance for simultaneous removal of NO and toluene. The introduction of Fe into CuCeZr enhances both acid sites and redox properties via the redox cycle between Cu2++Ce3+↔Cu++Ce4+ and Fe3++Ce3+↔Fe2++Ce4+ redox cycle. Importantly, Fe incorporation leads to the formation of lattice defects and oxygen vacancies, generating abundant active sites that mitigate the detrimental effects of SO2 poisoning, and promote the efficient removal of NO and toluene simultaneously. Besides, a mechanism influence of SO2 on the reaction process for simultaneous removal of NO and toluene at low-medium temperatures was proposed. This mechanism has the potential to provide an effective solution for developing non-vanadium-based SCR catalysts with sulfur resistance.

Diethylene glycolamine-assisted rapid synthesis of mechanically robust pyrogallol-based carbon monoliths for CO2 capture and separation

Carbon monoliths have the advantages of good heat resistance and no need for molding during use. However, in practical applications, due to its low strength, it often suffers from wear and breakage during multiple adsorption-desorption cycles, which is not conducive to CO2 adsorption. Pyrogallol and formaldehyde-based polymers were used as carbon precursors, triblock copolymer Pluronic F127 was used as a structural directing agent, and diethylene glycolamine (DGA) as both the polymerization crosslinking agent and structural assembly promoter. In the presence of DGA, the solution can quickly gel within 15–20 min at 90 °C. No catalyst required, no environmental pollution, low cost, and mild reaction. Hydrogen bond interaction and poly(benzoxazine-co-resol) self-assembly synthesized homogeneous and crack-free polymer monoliths. A sturdy framework of carbon monoliths was obtained by adjusting the content of DGA and carbonization temperature. The kind of carbon monolith not only has a fully interconnected mesoporous structure and maintains good shape even after being magnified three times. The tight network skeleton enables it to have good mechanical strength and withstand a pressure of 8.1 MPa, which is 41 times greater than that of nano-casting and soft template carbon monoliths (0.19 and 0.2 MPa). The presence of nitrogen-containing groups and pore structures gives it good CO2 capture ability (0.9–2.8 mmol/g, 1 bar, 298 K), superior to the regular mesoporous carbon prepared by soft and hard template methods (1.5 and 1.7 mmol/g). Meanwhile, it exhibits high selectivity for capturing CO2 over N2 from a 15% (v%) CO2/N2 mixture. They undergo a facile CO2 release in an argon stream at 25 °C, indicating a good regeneration capacity. After five testing cycles, the carbon monolith still maintained good adsorption and separation performance, with adsorption capacity maintained at 98–100% of the initial adsorption capacity.

Solar thermo-photo catalytic hydrogen production from water with non-metal carbon nitrides

Thermo-photo catalytic water splitting for hydrogen generation is a promising method for cascade utilization of full-spectrum solar energy. Herein, two g-C3N4 catalysts were synthesized using a hard-template method with different precursors (melamine for M-CN and cyanamide for C-CN) to investigate the synergistic effect between photo and thermal energies in thermo-photo catalysis. The hydrogen production rates via different pathways, including thermo-photo catalysis (TPC), thermal catalysis (TC), and photocatalysis (PC), were investigated. Results showed that the hydrogen generation rates of M-CN and C-CN catalysts via the TPC pathway at 60 °C under full-spectrum irradiation were 808.4 μmol g−1 h−1 and 1932.9 μmol g−1 h−1, respectively, which were both higher than the sum of the hydrogen production rates via TC and PC pathways, indicating the coupling effect between the photoelectric and photothermal effects of light. The thermo-photo synergy with thermal energy converted from photothermal effect is stronger than that with thermal energy from an external heat source. The mechanism of the synergistic effect was characterized by photoelectrochemical experiments, revealing that higher temperatures promote the separation and migration of charge carriers, providing a microscopic explanation for the improved hydrogen production rate of thermo-photo catalysis.

Accelerated Catalytic Ozonation in a Mesoporous Carbon-Supported Atomic Fe-N4 Sites Nanoreactor: Confinement Effect and Resistance to Poisoning.

The design of a micro-/nanoreactor is of great significance for catalytic ozonation, which can achieve effective mass transfer and expose powerful reaction species. Herein, the mesoporous carbon with atomic Fe-N4 sites embedded in the ordered carbon nanochannels (Fe-N4/CMK-3) was synthesized by the hard-template method. Fe-N4/CMK-3 can be employed as nanoreactors with preferred electronic and geometric catalytic microenvironments for the internal catalytic ozonation of CH3SH. During the CH3SH oxidation process, the mass transfer coefficient of the Fe-N4/CMK-3 confined system with sufficient O3 transfer featured a level of at least 1.87 × 10-5, which is 34.6 times that of the Fe-N4/C-Si unconfined system. Detailed experimental studies and theoretical calculations demonstrated that the anchored atomic Fe-N4 sites and nanoconfinement effects regulated the local electronic structure of the catalyst and promoted the activation of O3 molecules to produce atomic oxygen species (AOS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), eventually achieving efficient oxidation of CH3SH into CO2/SO42-. Benefiting from the high diffusion rate and the augmentation of AOS/ROS, Fe-N4/CMK-3 exhibited an excellent poisoning tolerance, along with high catalytic durability. This contribution provides the proof-of-concept strategy for accelerating catalytic ozonation of sulfur-containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by combining confined catalysis and atomic catalysts and can be extended to the purification of other gaseous pollutants.

Tailoring the Morphology of Monodisperse Mesoporous Silica Particles Using Different Alkoxysilanes as Silica Precursors.

The hard template method for the preparation of monodisperse mesoporous silica microspheres (MPSMs) has been established in recent years. In this process, in situ-generated silica nanoparticles (SNPs) enter the porous organic template and control the size and pore parameters of the final MPSMs. Here, the sizes of the deposited SNPs are determined by the hydrolysis and condensation rates of different alkoxysilanes in a base catalyzed sol-gel process. Thus, tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS), tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), tetrapropyl orthosilicate (TPOS) and tetrabutyl orthosilicate (TBOS) were sol-gel processed in the presence of amino-functionalized poly (glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) (p(GMA-co-EDMA)) templates. The size of the final MPSMs covers a broad range of 0.5-7.3 µm and a median pore size distribution from 4.0 to 24.9 nm. Moreover, the specific surface area can be adjusted between 271 and 637 m2 g-1. Also, the properties and morphology of the MPSMs differ according to the SNPs. Furthermore, the combination of different alkoxysilanes allows the individual design of the morphology and pore parameters of the silica particles. Selected MPSMs were packed into columns and successfully applied as stationary phases in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the separation of various water-soluble vitamins.

In-situ synthesis of porous Na3V2(PO4)3 with stable V[sbnd]O[sbnd]C bridge bonding by hard template method

Low electronic conductivity and poor properties at high rate have hindered the application of Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP). Herein, a facile synthesis of NVP with porous carbon skeleton is proposed. Specifically, Na2CO3 and glucose, acting as hard templates, are introduced to the precursors after initial firing stage, and Na2CO3 particles are removed by flushing after the final heatment. Due to the thermal conductivity of Na2CO3, the secondary addition of glucose can generate distinctive graphitized porous carbon skeleton, which bonds well with the amorphous carbon coating to construct stable and conductive network. The porous construction can alleviate the stress and strain caused by the current impact through deformation. Furthermore, ex-situ EIS reveals the highly conductive carbon skeleton can significantly reduce the surface resistance and result in an increase of effective voltage to promote the de-intercalation of Na+. Moreover, the ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) at different potentials confirms the stabilized existence of VOC bonds. Benefiting from the unique carbon skeleton, the PC-NVP releases capacity of 116.9 mAh g−1 at 0.1C. Even at 120C, PC-NVP still exhibits a high capacity of 84.7 mAh g−1, retaining a value of 41.3 mAh g−1 after 16,000 cycles, corresponding to a low decay rate of 0.0032% per cycle.

Application of pitch-based multi cavity carbon microsheets in capacitive deionization removal of NO3–

Capacities deionization (CDI) denitrification technology has attracted considerable attention, and electrode materials with nitrate adsorption properties have become a research hotspot. In this study, a multi cavity carbon microsheets (MCCM-5) was prepared using a hard template method and low-cost nitrated pitch as a carbon source. The results of the electrosorption experiments showed that the material had an excellent capacity of NaNO3 (45 mg g−1). Furthermore, although the actual specific surface area and specific capacitance of MCCM-5 are lower than those of hierarchical porous carbon materials (HPCM-1), MCCM-5 exhibit lower diffusion and charge-transfer resistances, resulting in a better denitrification performance. The adsorption capacity of MCCM-5 for NaNO3 was twice that HPCM-1 and 11.8 times that of commercial activated carbon, which is superior to the material properties reported thus far. Our analysis indicated that the material combined the advantages of both a layered structure and hierarchical pores. First, the uniformly distributed hierarchical pores in the layered structure enhanced the ion concentration potential. Second, the layered structure provided good ion diffusion channels, thereby increasing the effective adsorption area of the material. DFT calculation shows that the carbon cavity structure enriched in the material shows a stronger adsorption capacity for NO3–, which can promote the electron transfer process during NO3– adsorption. This study shows that a precise regulation of the carbon material structure can be achieved by adjusting the size of the template material and carbonization conditions to obtain a higher adsorption capacity and provides a new idea for the structural optimization of electrode materials.

Preparation of bimodal mesoporous CoCe composite oxide for ethanol complete oxidation in air

Abstract The CeO2 and CeCoO composite oxide catalysts with bimodal mesopore structures were prepared by hard-template method and used for ethanol complete oxidation in air. The physicochemicalphysicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, TEM, XPS, H2-TPR, and O2-TPD. The Co species can be dissolved into CeO2 lattice to form Ce–O–Co solid solution, which promotes reactive oxygen species to be formed on the prepared CeCoO oxide catalysts surface. The bimodal mesopore structures can be obtained by the used hard-template method, and the pore structures of the prepared CeCoO oxide catalysts can be affected by the introduction of Co species. The synergistic effects from bimodal mesopore structures and reactive oxygen species can effectively boost ethanol complete oxidation to final product CO2. The CeCo2 catalyst with Ce/Co mole ratio of 2.0 exhibites superior ethanol complete oxidation activity and service stability, the ethanol oxidation conversion and final oxidation product CO2 selectivity reached 99.8 % and 99.2 % at 200 °C, respectively. This work indicates that the bimodal mesoporous CeCoO solid solution composite oxide catalyst is a promising candidate for OVOCs oxidation elimination from air.

Carbonized CMPs Hollow Microspheres-Based Hydrogel Composite Membranes with a Hierarchical Architecture for Efficient Solar-Driven Interfacial Evaporation.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) with excellent photothermal conversion efficiency is emerging as one of the frontier technologies for freshwater production. In this work, novel carbonized conjugate microporous polymers (CCMPs) hollow microspheres-based composite hydrogel membranes (CCMPsHM-CHM) for efficient SDIE are reported. The precursor, CMPs hollow microspheres (CMPsHM), is synthesized by an in situ Sonogashira-Hagihara cross-coupling reaction using a hard template method. The as-synthesized CCMPsHM-CHM exhibit significantly excellent properties, i.e., 3D hierarchical architecture (from micropore to macropore), superior solar light absorption (more than 89%), better thermal insulation (thermal conductivity as low as 0.32-0.42 W m-1K-1 in the wet state), superhydrophilic wettability with a water contact angle (WCA) of 0°, superior solar efficiency (up to 89-91%), a high evaporation rate of 1.48-1.51 kg m-2 h-1 under 1 sun irradiation, and excellent stability which maintains an evaporation rate of more than 80% after 10 cycles and over 83% evaporation efficiency in highly concentrated brine. In this case, the removal rate of metal ions in seawater is more than 99%, which is much lower than the ion concentration standard for drinking water set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Taking advantage of its simple and scalable manufacture, our CCMPsHM-CHM may have great potential as advanced membranes for various applications for efficient SDIE in different environments.

Incorporation of silica nanoparticles into porous templates to fabricate mesoporous silica microspheres for high performance liquid chromatography applications

High-performance liquid chromatography is one of the most important analytical tools for the identification and separation of substances. The efficiency of this method is largely determined by the stationary phase of the columns. Although monodisperse mesoporous silica microspheres (MPSM) represent a commonly used material as stationary phase their tailored preparation remains challenging. Here we report on the synthesis of four MPSMs via the hard template method. Silica nanoparticles (SNPs) which form the silica network of the final MPSMs were generated in situ from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in the presence of (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) functionalized p(GMA-co-EDMA) as hard template. Methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and 1-butanol were applied as solvents to control the size of the SNPs in the hybrid beads (HB). After calcination, MPSMs with different sizes, morphology and pore properties were obtained and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption and desorption measurements, thermogravimetric analysis, solid state NMR and DRIFT IR spectroscopy. Interestingly, the 29Si NMR spectra of the HBs show T and Q group species which suggests that there is no covalent linkage between the SNPs and the template. The MPSMs were functionalized with trimethoxy (octadecyl) silane and used as stationary phases in reversed-phase chromatography to separate a mixture of eleven different amino acids. The separation characteristics of the MPSMs strongly depend on their morphology and pore properties which are controlled by the solvent during the preparation of the MPSMs. Overall, the separation behavior of the best phases is comparable with those of commercially available columns. The phases even achieve faster separation of the amino acids without loss of quality.