Synthesis of mesoporous silica nanomaterials with structure–directing surfactants

• Main Author: Ng, Sandy Jingyi
• Other Authors: Tan Kwan Wee
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Materials
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138796
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Mesoporous silica nanomaterials have been widely studied for their excellent and versatile properties for applications such as catalysis and drug delivery. One of the facile and versatile synthesis methods of mesoporous silica nanostructures is the co-assembly of structure-directing surfactants with sol-gel derived silica precursors, enabling easy tuning of the shape, size, morphology, and functional properties of the structures. We report the study of the synthesis of amphiphilic surfactant-directed mesoporous silica thin films and nanoparticles. First, we explored the synthesis of mesoporous silica thin films (MSTFs) using cetyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the structure-directing agent of alkylsilane, the silica precursor which acts as building blocks for the structure. Decane oil was also utilized to function as a pore expander. Next, we successfully synthesized different types of aminated mesoporous silica nanoparticles by employing a Gemini-type surfactant as the structure-directing agent, as well as varying the reaction temperature and alkysilane/aminosilane precursor ratios. The different surfactant-directed silica nanomaterials were characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to determine the mesoscale morphologies as well as shapes and sizes of the resultant self-assembled silica nanostructures.