The synthesis of functional mesoporous materials

The ability to decorate a silica surface with specific ligand fields and/or metal complexes creates powerful new capabilities for catalysis, chemical separations and sensor development. Integrating this with the ability to control the spacing of these complexes across the surface, as well as the symmetry and size of the pore structure, allows the synthetic chemist to hierarchically tailor these structured nanomaterials to specific needs. The next step up the “scale ladder” is provided by the ability to coat these mesoporous materials onto complex shapes, allowing for the intimate integration of these tailored materials into device interfaces. The ability to tailor the pore structure of these mesoporous supports is derived from the surfactant templated synthesis of mesoporous materials, an area which has seen an explosion of activity over the last decade [J.S. Beck, J.C. Vartuli, W.J. Roth, M.E. Leonowicz, C.T. Kresge, K.D. Scmitt, C.T.W. Chu, D.H. Olson, E.W. Sheppard, S.B. McCullen, J.B. Higgins, J.L. Schlenker, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114 (1992) 10834–10843; C.T. Kresge, M.E. Leonowicz, W.J. Roth, J.C. Vartuli, J.S. Beck, Nature 359 (1992) 710–712]. The ability to decorate the surface with the desired functionality requires chemical modification of the oxide interface, most commonly achieved using organosilane self-assembly [; S.R. Wasserman, G.M. Whitesides, I.M. Tidswell, M. Ocko, P.S. Pershan, J.D. Axe, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 111 (1989) 5852–5861; ; ]. This manuscript describes recent results from the confluence of these two research areas, with a focus on synthetic manipulation of the morphology and chemistry of the interface, with the ultimate goal of binding metal centers in a chemically useful manner.