Mesoporous silica and organosilica materials — Review of their synthesis and organic functionalization

Mesoporous silica and organosilica materials are a class of nanostructured materials that have porous structures with tunable nanometer pores, large surface areas, high pore volumes, and, in some cases, well-ordered mesostructures. Furthermore, in the case of mesoporous organosilicas, the materials possess various types of organic functional groups. This review highlights the different synthetic methods developed for mesoporous silica and organosilica nanomaterials. The review also discusses the various synthetic strategies used to functionalize the surfaces of mesoporous silica materials and produce highly functionalized mesoporous materials. Rational design and synthetic methods developed to place judiciously chosen one or more than one type of functional group(s) on the surfaces of mesoporous silica materials and generate monofunctional and multifunctional mesoporous silica materials are also introduced. These organic functionalization methods have made possible the synthesis of organically functionalized mesoporous silicas and mesoporous organosilicas with various interesting properties and many potential applications in different areas, ranging from catalysis to drug delivery and biosensing.