The relationship between molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) morphology and template-rebinding over a series of warfarin-imprinted methacrylic acid co(ethylene dimethacrylate) polymers has been explored. Detailed investigations of the nature of template recognition revealed that an optimal template binding was obtained with polymers possessing a narrow population of pores (~3-4 nm) in the meso...

A new ordered mesoporous silica material (COK-19) with cubic symmetry is synthesized by silicate polycondensation in a citric acid/citrate buffered micellar solution of Pluronic F127 triblock copolymer near neutral pH. SAXS, nitrogen adsorption, TEM, and electron tomography reveal the final material has a cubic close packed symmetry (Fm3̅m) with isolated spherical mesopores interconnected throug...

Fabrication of hierarchically porous carbon materials (HPCs) with high surface area and pore volume has always been pursued. However, the currently effective template methods and acid/base activation strategies suffer from the drawbacks of either high costs or tedious steps. Herein, HPCs with 3D macro-mesopores and short-range meso-micropores were fabricated via an easy and sustainable two-step...

Activated carbons were obtained by phosphoric acid activation of a mixture of fruit stones (apricot and peach) in two different atmospheres (argon and air) at various temperatures in the 400–1000oC range. The evolution of several characteristic parameters of the resulting carbons (bulk density, yield, BET surface area, ultramicropore, supermicropore and mesopore volumes and cation-exchange capa...

We describe the synthesis of mesoporous silica fibers and discoids using disodium trioxosilicate (Na2SiO3 9H2O), a convenient silica source with cetyltrimethylmmonium chloride (CTAC) as a structure directing agent under acidic condition. The molar composition of the synthesis sol is 1Na2SiO3 9H2O:1.5CTAC:28HCl:729H2O. The fibers and discoids, both p6mm, hexagonal, are obtained at room temperatu...

Crystalline mesoporous molecular sieves have long been sought as solid acid catalysts for organic reactions involving large molecules. We synthesized a series of mesoporous molecular sieves that possess crystalline microporous walls with zeolitelike frameworks, extending the application of zeolites to the mesoporous range of 2 to 50 nanometers. Hexagonally ordered or disordered mesopores are ge...

In a physically confined environment, interfacial interactions, symmetry breaking, structural frustration and confinement-induced entropy loss can play dominant roles in determining molecular organization. Here we present a systematic study of the confined assembly of silica-surfactant composite mesostructures within cylindrical nanochannels of varying diameters. Using exactly the same precurso...

In this work we synthesized well-ordered, Ta2O5 films with a 3D-interconnected gyroid mesopore architecture with large pore sizes beyond 30 nm and extended crystalline domains through self-assembly of tailor-made triblock-terpolymers. This has effectively eliminated diffusion limitations inherent to previously reported mesoporous photocatalysts and resulted in superior hydrogen evolution with a...