Oxidative removal of template molecules and organic functionalities in mesoporous silica nanoparticles by H2O2 treatment

The H2O2-mediated oxidation of cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA) template inside the channels of mesoporous silica is investigated. Furthermore, the influence of H2O2 on the decomposition of various functional groups inserted by co-condensation is examined. The resulting oxidized products are compared to materials obtained by extraction in acidic ethanolic media. The concept of oxidative template removal is then transferred to colloidal suspensions containing mesoporous silica nanoparticles. By using phenyltriethoxysilane as a co-condensation agent, it is possible to control the size and shape of such nanosized porous hosts. The optimized H2O2 treatment is applied in order to produce suspensions of unfunctionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles with accessible pores and controlled morphologies by a quick and efficient one-pot reaction.