Characterization of Mesoporous Silica and its Application as an Adsorbent for Benzene Sensing

Mesoporous silica (MPS) is a porous silica material with various pore structures. In this study, mesocellular foam silica (MCF) was synthesized and functionalized by hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) to study effects of surface chemistry on benzene adsorption capability. Physical and chemical properties of pristine and functionalized MCFs were characterized and compared. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that the complex pore structures of the MCFs were retained after the functionalization at relatively high temperature (573K). TGA and FTIR results showed that the functionalization led to a reduction of water adsorbed on the surfaces of the MCF. The functionalization improved adsorption of benzene compared to the pristine MCF and the optimum HMDS:SiO2 molar ratio was 1.5. The amount of benzene adsorbed has a linear relationship with the concentration of benzene in the environment. This relationship enables quantitative benzene detection by using the functionalized MCF as sensing materials in resistive-type or gravimetric-type benzene gas sensors.

Pd nanoparticles confined in mesoporous N-doped carbon silica supports: a synergistic effect between catalyst and support

Palladium nanoparticles of similar size were deposited on different supports, layers of carbon materials (with and without nitrogen doping) on the surface of a MCF (mesocellular foam) silica.

Silica-Alginate Beads for Intestinal Ketoprofen Delivery

Herein, studies on ketoprofen delivery systems based on silica-alginate beads developed for the drug intestinal release for reducing its side effects were reported. The influence of surface properties, pore size and geometry of mesoporous silica carriers on the ketoprofen release kinetics was studied by using pristine and 3-aminopropyl functionalized MCM 41 (Mobile Composition of Matter) and MCF (mesocellular foam silica) materials. The ketoprofen loaded mesoporous silica coated with alginate is a pH-triggered system able to slow down the drug release rate in the targeted environment.