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The effect of solvent in evaporation-induced self-assembly: A case study of benzene periodic mesoporous organosilica

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Abstract

Volatile organic solvents were considered to have little influence on the synthesis of mesostructured materials through evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA), because upon evaporation they leave the sol and hence do not interfere with the self-assembly process. We show here that the choice of solvent is crucial in the synthesis of thin films of phenylene-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica (benzene PMO). Methanol is found to be a better solvent for the synthesis of thin films, whereas ethanol favors the formation of (HO)3Si-C6H4-Si(OH)3 crystals, the identity and structure of which is established by X-ray diffraction. A ternary reactant composition diagram is designed to visualize the relationship among multiple synthesis experiments and to guide the interpretation of experimental results and optimization of the quality of the periodic mesoporous organosilica film. Our study highlights the importance of solvent choice, a factor often neglected in EISA. We expect it to inspire researchers to explore the effect of solvent in designing the synthesis of mesoporous materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Chemistry Research Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, M5S 3H6, Canada

    WenDong Wang, Daniel Faulkner, Jonathon Moir & Geoffrey A. Ozin

  2. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Toronto, 184 College St, Toronto, M5S 3E4, Canada

    Daniel Faulkner

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  1. WenDong Wang
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  2. Daniel Faulkner
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  3. Jonathon Moir
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  4. Geoffrey A. Ozin
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Correspondence to Geoffrey A. Ozin.

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OZIN Geoffrey A. studied at King’s College London and Oriel College Oxford University, before completing an ICI Postdoctoral Fellowship at Southampton University. Currently he is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Materials Chemistry, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Toronto, and a Founding Fellow of the Nanoscience Team at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Internationally he is or has served as an Honorary Professor at The Royal Institution Great Britain and University College London, External Advisor for the London Centre for Nanotechnology, Alexander von Humboldt Senor Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Surface and Colloid Science Potsdam, and Distinguished Research Fellow at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Over a four decade career he has made important scientific and technological advances in Nanochemistry, which have help shape the course of Nanotechnology. He has made benchmark discoveries in the fields of Nanomaterials, Nanoporous Materials, Photonic Crystals and Nanomachines.

WANG WenDong obtained his B.Sc. in chemistry from Kuang Yaming Honors School in 2006 at Nanjing University, where he studied self-assembly of alumina nanotube with Professor DING WeiPing. His PhD work with Professor OZIN Geoffrey focuses on the application of periodic mesoporous organosilica as low-dielectric-constant materials in microprocessors. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow in Professor AIZENBERG Joanna’s group at Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard. His research interests include mesoporous materials, photonics, graphene, self-assembly, energy, cleantech and the commercialization of technology.

FAULKNER Daniel received his MA and MSci degrees in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge in 2008, specialising in chemistry. During his final year he researched enantioselective heterogeneous hydrogenation reactions under professor Richard Lambert. He is now pursuing a PhD at the University of Toronto in the departments of materials science & engineering and chemistry under the supervision of professors KHERANI Nazir, OZIN Geoffrey and PEROVIC Doug. His research focus is the synthesis and characterization of NaYF4-based upconverting materials and their potential application to high efficiency solar cells.

MOIR Jonathon obtained his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Chemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada under the supervision of Dr. Cathleen Crudden. He has done research at multiple universities and for two government departments, working on projects ranging from organic synthesis to catalysis and degradation of pollutants in fuel emissions. Currently, Jonathon is studying to obtain his Masters of Science at the University of Toronto, under the direction of Dr. OZIN Geoffrey. His research focuses primarily on the synthesis and application of nanoparticles and nanomaterials to various catalytic reactions.

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Wang, W., Faulkner, D., Moir, J. et al. The effect of solvent in evaporation-induced self-assembly: A case study of benzene periodic mesoporous organosilica. Sci. China Chem. 54, 1920–1925 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-011-4457-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-011-4457-x

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