Mesoporous Materials for Environmental Applications

G. J. A. A. SOLER ILLIA

Conferencia; XXVIII International Materials Research Congress; 2018

The combination of sol?gel synthesis and surfactant self-assembly paved the way toproducing mesoporous materials with high surface area and highly controlled mesoporediameter (2-50 nm). Synthetic strategies to produce these systems have evolved toachieve highly controlled materials with well-defined pore systems that can be further?decorated? with organic, biological or nanoscale functions located in the inorganicframework, pore surface or interior. The properties of these materials are tuned by thepore size and geometry, wall composition and surface features leading to very complex,tunable and interesting nanophase materials with prospective applications in a plethora offields, such as energy, catalysis, environment or nanomedicine. In particular, these highlyporous systems can be advantageously applied to environmental issues, due to their highsurface area and controlled nanofeatures, which can be exploited in adsorption orcatalysis.In this presentation, we will illustrate the richness of mesoporous materials (MM)processed as thin films, monoliths or submicron colloids for environmental applications.Mesoporous oxide and hybrid organic-inorganic architectures can be produced through theself-assembly of nanobuilding blocks in the presence of supramolecular templates. Theproperties obtained derive from a combination of pore accessibility and accurate chemicalcontrol at the wall and interfaces. In addition to synthetic and characterization tools,theoretical models and simulations are essential to understand the complexity of thesynthesis paths that lead to the final properties. This in-depth knowledge is key to evolvefrom materials synthesis to ultimate nanosystems design.In the case of tunable mesoporous titania based photocatalysts, we will emphasize theimportance of controlling pore accessibility and crystalline character in the photocatalystperformance. Decorating mixed zirconia-ceria with metallic nanoparticles results in activeelectrocatalysts. Adding organic functions to silica surfaces enables the creation of hybridactive ion scavengers presenting high load capacity, fast adsorption kinetics and reusablealong several adsorption-recovery cycles. A combination of different functions withinnested porosities permits to achieve complex systems such as enzyme cascade hosts,intelligent bioscaffolds, remotely activated nanoparticles or perm-selective membranes. Apotentially infinite variety of nanosystems with externally controllable behavior is at ourdisposal, opening the path to design intelligent matter.