Materials scientists in China have developed a way to make four kinds of porous silica, by tuning the reaction conditions.  

Dongyuan Zhao and co-workers at Fudan University used a triblock copolymer, an anionic surfactant and a swelling agent to make mesoporous silica - silica with pores between 20 and 500 Ångstroms in diameter.  The researchers generated structures with different atomic arrangements by altering the amounts of surfactants and swelling agent used.

Mesoporous silica is used in separation, catalysis, drug delivery and electronic devices.  According to Zhao, different structures are important for different applications, and controlling the production of the structures has been an important challenge. 

The researchers said they hope this development will encourage further study of the applications of these important materials.  

'Research based on the mixed-surfactant assembly will ultimately provide more options for economical and large-scale production of mesoporous materials with controllable structures,' said Zhao.  

Rebecca Gillan