Pore size of mesoporous materials is crucial for their surface grafting. This article develops a novel multifunctional microsphere with a large pore size mesoporous silica shell (ca. 10.3 nm) and a magnetic core (Fe₃O₄), which is fabricated using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as pore-forming agents, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as silicon source through a sol-gel process. Compared wi...

Natural gas hydrates (NGHs) are solid non-stoichiometric compounds often regarded as a next generation energy source. Successful commercialization of NGH is curtailed by lack of efficient and safe technology for generation, dissociation, storage and transportation. The present work studied the influence of environment compatible biosurfactant on gas hydrate formation. Biosurfactant was produced...

An evanescent wave variant of broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy using a supercontinuum light source has been used to detect electrogenerated species at the silica-water interface. In proofof-concept experiments [IrCl6] was produced by electro-oxidation of [IrCl6] in a thin layer electrochemical cell. Diffusion of the Ir(IV) across the cell to a silica interface was monitored yie...

This study synthesized highly pure silica nanoparticles from the northeast Algerian Sahara dunes sand as a low-cost source using simple and environmentally friendly method. The were extracted sodium silicate solution precursor without employing any additive agents. silica’s crystalline structure, chemical composition, bonding, microstructure, elemental analysis, thermal optical characteristics ...

one distinct concentration of copper ions was embedded into the silica matrix to xerogel form using copper source cu(no3)2∙3h2o. the xerogel samples were prepared with using hydrolysis and condensation reactions of tetraethyl ortho-silicate (teos) by the sol-gel method. in this investigation, new molar ratio of h2o/teos was determined to be 11.7. also, the necessary amount of tri-hydrated coppe...

The biogenic silica (BSi) content of sediments has been used to infer past primary productivity in marine and lacustrine systems (Johnson et al., 2002; Verschuren et al., 2002). Biogenic silica is derived from the fossil remains of diatoms, sponge spicules, and plant phytoliths; however, diatoms make up the overwhelming source of BSi in most aquatic systems. Diatoms are important primary produc...

Continuous and simultaneous 3D single-particle movement and local pH detection in HeLa cells were demonstrated for the first time by combining fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles (FMSNs) and a single-particle tracking (SPT) technique with a precision of ∼10 nm. FMSNs, synthesized by the co-condensation of both pH-sensitive and reference dyes with a silica/surfactant source, allow long-t...

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...

Abstract Semiconductor nanomaterials are often proposed as photocatalysts for wastewater treatment; silica still largely unexploited because their photocatalytic performances need improvements, especially under visible light. The present study is a proof-of-concept that amorphous colloids once submitted to the proper surface modifications change into an efficient photocatalyst even low-energy i...