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Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Sustainable Technologies

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 11206

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
LAQV-REQUIMTE Associate Laboratory, University of Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
Interests: polyoxometalates; porous materials; heterogeneous catalysis; oxidative desulfurization; lanthanide luminescence; optical sensing; water remediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LAQV-REQUIMTE Associate Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto 4169-007, Portugal
Interests: heterogeneous catalysts; polyoxometalates; catalytic metal-organic frameworks; sustainable catalytic processes; oxidation catalysis; hydrogen peroxide; desulfurization; glycerol oxidation; deep-eutectic solvents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
LAQV-REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
Interests: materials science and catalysis; coordination and inorganic chemistry; multifunctional metal-organic frameworks; high nuclearity coordination complexes; sustainable crystalline coordination polymers; structural chemistry; X-ray diffraction analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mesoporous silica has received enormous attention due to its structural and economic features and advantages, namely high surface area, remarkable chemical, thermal, and mechanical stabilities, optical transparency, as well as uniformity of pore distribution. Mesoporous silica-based materials have been directly used through specific tailoring of desired properties, such as functionality, pore size and shape, or as reliable solid supports in the preparation of novel composite materials.

Over the past decade, mesoporous silica-based materials have emerged as enabling materials for a wide variety of green and sustainable technologies, including catalysis, energy conversion, gas storage and separation, wastewater treatment, pollutant sensing, etc.

This Special Issue focuses on developing green, sustainable mesoporous silica-based materials preparation, characterization, and their applications. The contribution of original research manuscripts or relevant critical review articles in this scientific field is both welcome and important for the current issue.

Dr. Carlos M. Granadeiro
Dr. Salete Balula
Dr. Luis Cunha-Silva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mesoporous silica
  • ordered (organo)silica
  • sustainable processes
  • green chemistry
  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • electrocatalysis
  • energy conversion
  • gas storage and separation
  • environmental remediation
  • pollutant sensing
  • water treatment

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3540 KiB  
Article
Tailoring of Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Enhanced Water Pollutants Removal
by Daniela Flores, C. Marisa R. Almeida, Carlos R. Gomes, Salete S. Balula and Carlos M. Granadeiro
Molecules 2023, 28(10), 4038; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules28104038 - 11 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2172
Abstract
The adsorptive performance of mesoporous silica-based materials towards inorganic (metal ions) and organic (dyes) water pollutants was investigated. Mesoporous silica materials with different particle size, surface area and pore volume were prepared and tailored with different functional groups. These materials were then characterised [...] Read more.
The adsorptive performance of mesoporous silica-based materials towards inorganic (metal ions) and organic (dyes) water pollutants was investigated. Mesoporous silica materials with different particle size, surface area and pore volume were prepared and tailored with different functional groups. These materials were then characterised by solid-state techniques, namely vibrational spectroscopy, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, allowing the successful preparation and structural modifications of the materials to be confirmed. The influence of the physicochemical properties of the adsorbents towards the removal of metal ions (Ni2+, Cu2+ and Fe3+) and organic dyes (methylene blue and methyl green) from aqueous solutions was also investigated. The results reveal that the exceptionally high surface area and suitable ζ-potential of the nanosized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) seem to favour the adsorptive capacity of the material for both types of water pollutants. Kinetic studies were performed for the adsorption of organic dyes by MSNPs and large-pore mesoporous silica (LPMS), suggesting that the process follows a pseudo-second-order model. The recyclability along consecutive adsorption cycles and the stability of the adsorbents after use were also investigated, showing that the material can be reused. Current results show the potentialities of novel silica-based material as a suitable adsorbent to remove pollutants from aquatic matrices with an applicability to reduce water pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Sustainable Technologies)
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21 pages, 7327 KiB  
Article
Targeted Delivery of Sunitinib by MUC-1 Aptamer-Capped Magnetic Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
by Mitra Torabi, Ayuob Aghanejad, Pouria Savadi, Abolfazl Barzegari, Yadollah Omidi and Jaleh Barar
Molecules 2023, 28(1), 411; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules28010411 - 03 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2379
Abstract
Magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMSNPs) are being widely investigated as multifunctional novel drug delivery systems (DDSs) and play an important role in targeted therapy. Here, magnetic cores were synthesized using the thermal decomposition method. Further, to improve the biocompatibility and pharmacokinetic behavior, mesoporous [...] Read more.
Magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMSNPs) are being widely investigated as multifunctional novel drug delivery systems (DDSs) and play an important role in targeted therapy. Here, magnetic cores were synthesized using the thermal decomposition method. Further, to improve the biocompatibility and pharmacokinetic behavior, mesoporous silica was synthesized using the sol-gel process to coat the magnetic cores. Subsequently, sunitinib (SUN) was loaded into the MMSNPs, and the particles were armed with amine-modified mucin 1 (MUC-1) aptamers. The MMSNPs were characterized using FT-IR, TEM, SEM, electrophoresis gel, DLS, and EDX. MTT assay, flow cytometry analysis, ROS assessment, and mitochondrial membrane potential analysis evaluated the nanoparticles’ biological impacts. The physicochemical analysis revealed that the engineered MMSNPs have a smooth surface and spherical shape with an average size of 97.6 nm. The biological in vitro analysis confirmed the highest impacts of the targeted MMSNPs in MUC-1 overexpressing cells (OVCAR-3) compared to the MUC-1 negative MDA-MB-231 cells. In conclusion, the synthesized MMSNP-SUN-MUC-1 nanosystem serves as a unique multifunctional targeted delivery system to combat the MUC-1 overexpressing ovarian cancer cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Sustainable Technologies)
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13 pages, 2437 KiB  
Article
Effects of Impregnated Amidophosphonate Ligand Concentration on the Uranium Extraction Behavior of Mesoporous Silica
by Aline Dressler, Antoine Leydier and Agnès Grandjean
Molecules 2022, 27(14), 4342; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27144342 - 06 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1324
Abstract
A series of solid-phase uranium extractants were prepared by post-synthesis impregnation of a mesoporous silica support previously functionalized with octyl chains by direct silanization. Five materials were synthesized with 0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 mmol of the amidophosphonate ligand DEHCEBP per gram [...] Read more.
A series of solid-phase uranium extractants were prepared by post-synthesis impregnation of a mesoporous silica support previously functionalized with octyl chains by direct silanization. Five materials were synthesized with 0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 mmol of the amidophosphonate ligand DEHCEBP per gram of functionalized solid, and the effect of the ligand concentration on the uranium extraction efficiency and selectivity of the materials was investigated. Nitrogen adsorption–desorption data show that with increasing ligand loadings, the specific surface area and average pore volume decrease as the amidophosphonate ligand fills first the micropores and then the mesopores of the support. Acidic uranium solutions with a high sulfate content were used to replicate the conditions in ore treatment leaching solutions. Considering the extraction kinetics, the equilibration time was found to increase with the ligand concentration, which can be explained by the clogging of micropores and the multilayer arrangement of the DEHCEBP molecules in the materials with their highest ligand contents. The fact that the equilibrium ligand/uranium ratio is about 2 mol/mol regardless of the ligand concentration in the material suggests that all the ligand molecules remain accessible for extraction. The maximum uranium extraction capacities ranged from 30 mg∙g−1 at 0.2 mmol∙g−1 DEHCEBP to 54 mg∙g−1 in the material with 0.5 mmol∙g−1 DEHCEBP. These materials could therefore potentially be used as solid-phase uranium extractants in acidic solutions with high sulfate concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Sustainable Technologies)
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18 pages, 2322 KiB  
Article
Novel Mesoporous Organosilicas with Task Ionic Liquids: Properties and High Adsorption Performance for Pb(II)
by Karolina Wieszczycka, Kinga Filipowiak, Patrycja Dudzinska, Marek Nowicki, Katarzyna Siwińska-Ciesielczyk and Teofil Jesionowski
Molecules 2022, 27(4), 1405; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27041405 - 18 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1762
Abstract
Removal of toxic contaminants such as Pb(II) from waste solutions is environmentally requested. Therefore, in this paper, for potential novel sorbents, mesoporous ionic liquid-functionalized silicas were synthesized and tested for the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions. The successful synthesis of the adsorbents [...] Read more.
Removal of toxic contaminants such as Pb(II) from waste solutions is environmentally requested. Therefore, in this paper, for potential novel sorbents, mesoporous ionic liquid-functionalized silicas were synthesized and tested for the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions. The successful synthesis of the adsorbents was proved by nuclear magnetic resonance (29Si and 13C NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and elemental analysis. The structural and textural properties were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and low-temperature N2 sorption, and the result showed that the applied procedure made it possible to obtain highly ordered particles with a two-dimensional mesostructure. The effects of several parameters including initial pH, contact time, adsorption temperature, and Pb(II) concentration were studied in detail and were discussed to evaluate the adsorption properties of the fabricated materials towards Pb(II). The obtained results confirmed a very high potential of the sorbents; however, the adsorption properties depend on the structure and amounts of the functional group onto fabricated materials. The sample ILS-Ox3-40 showed fast kinetics (equilibrium reached within 10 min) and capacity of 172 mg/g, and that makes it a promising sorbent for the cleanup of water contaminated by lead. It was also indicated that, regardless on structure of the tested materials, the Pb(II) removal was spontaneous and exothermic. The fabricated mesoporous silicas exhibited that they were easy to regenerate and had excellent reusability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Sustainable Technologies)
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16 pages, 12208 KiB  
Article
Early-Age Hydration Reaction and Strength Formation Mechanism of Solid Waste Silica Fume Modified Concrete
by Tao Luo, Cheng Hua, Qiang Sun, Liyun Tang, Yu Yi and Xiaofeng Pan
Molecules 2021, 26(18), 5663; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26185663 - 17 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2064
Abstract
Solid waste silica fume was used to replace fly ash by different ratios to study the early-age hydration reaction and strength formation mechanism of concrete. The change pattern of moisture content in different phases and micro morphological characteristics of concrete at early age [...] Read more.
Solid waste silica fume was used to replace fly ash by different ratios to study the early-age hydration reaction and strength formation mechanism of concrete. The change pattern of moisture content in different phases and micro morphological characteristics of concrete at early age were analyzed by low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the compressive strength of concrete was enhanced optimally when the replacement ratio of solid waste silica fume was 50%. The results of LF-NMR analysis showed that the water content of modified concrete increased with the increase of solid waste silica fume content. The compressive strength of concrete grew faster within the curing age of 7 d, which means the hydration process of concrete was also faster. The micro morphological characteristics obtained by SEM revealed that the concrete was densest internally when 50% fly ash was replaced by the solid waste silica fume, which was better than the other contents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mesoporous Silica-Based Materials for Sustainable Technologies)
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