Synthesis chemistry and application development of periodic mesoporous organosilicas

This paper provides a comprehensive and critical overview of recent advances in synthesis chemistry and application development of periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs). A number of organic bridge-bonded functional and multifunctional PMOs with inorganic- organic hybridized framework have been synthesized from varieties of precursors. The syntheses of a series of PMOs have been accomplished typically by resorting to the cocondensation of the mixed precursors of tetraalkoxysilane and bridged organosiloxane, bridged organosiloxane with terminal organosiloxane, or the co-condensation of multiple bridged organosiloxane. The choice of precursors depends on the desired location of organic groups which can be either on the surface or within the pore wall in resulting PMOs. Besides precursors, synthesis conditions evidently play an important role in the formation, morphologies and pore structure of PMOs. Recent advances show that the morphologies and mesopores of PMOs can be adjusted by changing the synthetic parameters such as template, additives, pH value, and temperature. The PMOs with tunable composition, morphology and even-distributed hydrophobic organic groups in the framework endow such periodic mesoporous hybrids with great potentials in the fields of catalysis, environmental remediation, biology, pharmacy, analytical chemistry and microelectronics. The synthesis chemistry of PMOs and application development would particularly and continuously appeal to the researchers in chemistry and materials science in future. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC