Elaborate control over the morphology and structure of mercapto-functionalized mesoporous silicas as multipurpose carriers.

In this article, mercapto-functionalized helical mesoporous silica nanorods have been synthesized by a one-step co-condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS) using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a template. Process parameters, including MPTS concentration, stirring time and added volume of ethanol as co-solvent, were both carefully and accurately regulated, and obtained results showed that these parameters all had large effects on the morphology and structure of products. Furthermore, the helical mesoporous silica nanorods were successfully employed as multipurpose carriers for Au nanoparticles (NPs) and CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) by in situ formation and post-loading, respectively. In a preliminary catalytic test, Au NPs as small as ca. 0.6 nm in the helical mesoporous silica nanorods after calcination showed much enhanced catalytic activity for reduction of methylene blue (MB(+)).