This work reports on the nanoscale assembly of hybrid lanthanum oxide and silica structures, which form patterns of interfacial dense and porous networks. It was found that increasing the molar ratio of lanthanum nitrate to tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in an acid catalysed sol-gel process alters the expected microporous metal oxide silica structure to a predominantly mesoporous structure abo...

Under pH 7 - 10 conditions, the mesoporous silica supports proposed for use in water treatment are relatively unstable. In batch experiments conducted in pH 7 solutions, the commonly used support SBA-15 dissolved quickly, releasing approximately 30 mg/L of dissolved silica after 2 hours. In column experiments, more than 45% of an initial mass of 0.25 g SBA-15 dissolved within 2 days when a pH 8...

The goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of loading rifampin into mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Rifampin was selected as a model lipophilic molecule since it is a well-documented and much used anti tuberculosis drug. The mesoporous silica nanoparticles were prepared by using Tetraethyl ortho silicate and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (as surfactant); The prepared nanoparti...

The goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of loading rifampin into mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Rifampin was selected as a model lipophilic molecule since it is a well-documented and much used anti tuberculosis drug. The mesoporous silica nanoparticles were prepared by using tetraethyl ortho silicate and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (as surfactant). The prepared nanoparti...

The advanced properties of mesoporous silica have been demonstrated in applications, which include chemical sensing, filtration, catalysis, drug delivery and selective biomolecular uptake. These properties depend on the architectural, physical and chemical properties of the material, which in turn are determined by the processing parameters in evaporation-induced self-assembly. In this study, w...

Silica-titania monoliths with micrometer-scale macroporous and nanometer-scale mesoporous structure and high titania contents are prepared by sol-gel process and phase separation. Titanium alkoxide precursor was not effective in the preparation of high titania content composites because of strong decrease in phase separation tendency. Bimodal porous gels with high titania content were obtained ...

Crystals of zeolites with intricate micropores have been widely used in industry as heterogeneous catalysts, in particular as solid acid catalysts in the fields of oil refining and petrochemistry. However, relatively small individual micropores in zeolites such as Beta, ZSM-5, and Y strongly influence mass transport to and from the active sites located within them, severely limiting the perform...

Organometallic nanomaterials hold the promise for molecular hydrogen (H(2)) storage by providing nearly ideal binding strength to H(2) for room-temperature applications. Synthesizing such materials, however, faces severe setbacks due to the problem of metal clustering. Inspired by a recent experimental breakthrough ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008 , 130 , 6992 ), which demonstrates enhanced H(2) bindin...

Ordered porous materials with unique pore structures and pore sizes in the mesoporous range (2-50 nm) have many applications in catalysis, separation and drug delivery. Extensive research has resulted in mesoporous materials with one-dimensional, cage-like and bi-continuous pore structures. Three families of bi-continuous mesoporous materials have been made, with two interwoven but unconnected ...

A facile self-assembly method is described to prepare PEGylated silica nanocarriers using hydrophobic mesoporous silica nanoparticles and a pluronic F127 polymer. Pluronic capped nanocarriers revealed excellent dispersibility in biological media with cyto- and blood compatibilities.