Confined space synthesis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a three dimensionally ordered close-packing structure

•Mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a three dimensionally ordered close-packing structure (3DOc-p MSNs)•Controllable particle size ranged from 10 to 160 nm•Various mesopore morphologies of hollow, multicellar, disordered wormlike, and ordered structure•Clear suspension of highly monodispersed mesoporous silica nanoparticles by sonication induced fragmentation of 3DOc-p MSNs

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a three dimensionally ordered close-packing structure (3DOc-p MSNs) were confined synthesis through steam-assisted crystallization (SAC). With a perfect replication from the three dimensionally ordered mesoporous carbon template, the obtained 3DOc-p MSNs presented a unique assembly structure of colloidal crystals composed of uniform mesoporous silica spherical particles with a controllable particle size ranged from 10 to 160 nm and various mesopore morphologies of hollow, multicellar, disordered wormlike, and ordered structures with the increasing of the confined space provided by the carbon template. Moreover, sonication induced fragmentation of 10, 20, and 40 nm 3DOc-p MSNs resulted in the clear suspensions of highly monodispersed mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

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