A facile method to synthesize novel hollow mesoporous silica spheres and advanced storage property

Hollow mesoporous silica spheres with uniform size and morphology have been successfully synthesized in a facile route using PVP and CTAB as co-templates at room temperature. XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption analysis, FE-SEM, TEM and UV-vis are used for the characterization. The hexagonally ordered pore channels are formed on the shell. These hollow mesoporous silica spheres have been proven to store much more guest molecules than conventional MCM-41, with more than half of them being held in the hollow cores.