Control The Morphologies And Pore Architectures Of Mesoporous Silica Through A Dual-templating Appoach

Mesoporous silicas with a variety of morphologies and pore architectures have great potential applications for catalysis, separation and controlled release, which attract much attention of many researchers. Generally, they can be prepared through single-, dual-and triple-templating approaches. Herein, they were prepared through a dual-templating approach using chiral low-molecular-weight amphiphile (LMWA) and Fluronic F127triblock copolymer.Firstly, a series of chiral LMWAs derived from amino acids were synthesized. They were characterized using IR, NMR, elemental analysis and circular dichroism (CD). Secondly, chiral mesoporous silica nanotubes, ribbons and flakes were prepared using mixtures of these LMWAs and Fluronic F127triblock copolymer. The obtained samples were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction and nitrogen sorptions. Finally, the formation of the mesoporous silicas was studied by taking TEM images after different reaction times.