Self-assembly of multi-hierarchically structured spongy mesoporous silica particles and mechanism of their formation

V. Kalaparthi (1) , S. Palantavida (1) , N. E. Mordvinova (2) , O. I. Lebedev (2) , I. Sokolov (1)

1 Tufts University [Medford]
2 CRISMAT - Laboratoire de cristallographie et sciences des matériaux

Here we report on self-assembly of novel multi-hierarchically structured meso(nano)porous colloidal silica particles which have cylindrical pores of 4-6 nm, overall size of 10 gm and "cracks" of 50-200 nm. These cracks make particles look like micro-sponges. The particles were prepared through a modified templated sol-gel self-assembly process. The mechanism of assembly of these particles is investigated. Using encapsulated fluorescent dye, we demonstrate that the spongy particles are advantageous to facilitate dye diffusion out of particles. This multi-hierarchically geometry of particles can be used to improve the particle design for multiple applications to control drug release, rate of catalysis, filtration, utilization of particles as hosts for functional molecules (e.g., enzymes), etc. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mots clés: Nanoporous silica colloids; Self-assembly mechanism; Pore and interface geometry

Domaines: Chimie; Cristallographie; Matériaux; Chimie théorique et/ou physique

V. Kalaparthi, S. Palantavida, N. E. Mordvinova, O. I. Lebedev, I. Sokolov. Self-assembly of multi-hierarchically structured spongy mesoporous silica particles and mechanism of their formation. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2017, 491, pp.133-140. ⟨10.1016/j.jcis.2016.12.027⟩. ⟨hal-02175441⟩