Fabrication of mesostructured silica materials through co-structure-directing route

Abstract

This account describes our recent advances on the fabrication of mesoporous/mesostructured silica materials through the co-structure-directing route. This route establishes critical interactions between the head groups of templates and co-structure-directing agent (CSDA) to form highly ordered mesostructures and well-defined morphologies. Three particular approaches are described based on the different kinds of templates: anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, and biomolecules (DNA and peptides). Notably, because of the pairing effect between templates and CSDA, the functional groups can be arranged regularly in the surface of the mesopores. Moreover, the applications and future perspective of mesoporous materials synthesized through co-structure-directing route are briefly described.