A facile template route to periodic mesoporous organosilicas nanospheres with tubular structure by using compressed CO2

Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) nanospheres with tubular structure were prepared with compressed CO2 using cationic and anionic mixed surfactant (CTAB/SDS) and triblock copolymer Pluronic P123 as bi-templates. TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, solid NMR, and FTIR were employed to characterize the obtained materials. Compressed CO2 severed as acidic reagent to promote the hydrolysis of organosilicas, and could tune the morphology and structure of the obtained PMOs nanomaterials simple by adjusting the CO2 pressure during the synthesis process. Rhodamine B (RB) and Ibuprofen (IBU), as the model dye and drug, were loaded into the prepared nanomaterials to reveal its adsorption and desorption ability. Furthermore, different molars of the surfactant (CTAB/SDS) and organosilane precursor (BTEB) were investigated to show the effect of the surfactant concentration on the morphology and structure of the PMOs prepared with compressed CO2, and some different structures were obtained. A possible mechanism for the synthesis of PMOs with tubular structure using compressed CO2 was proposed based on the experimental results.