Sulfonic Acid Modified Hollow Silica Spheres and Its Application in Proton Exchange Membranes

In order to improve the proton conductivity of hollow silica spheres （HSS）/perfluorosulfonic acid ion-exchange （PFSA） composite membranes as proton exchange membrane,sulfonic acid groups were grafted onto the surfaces of HSS via post grafting methods.TEM images and FT-IR spectra of the obtained sulfonic acid groups modified hollow silica spheres （SAMHSS） illustrated that the sulfonic acid groups were successfully grafted onto the surfaces of HSS.Water uptake and swelling degree of SAMHSS/PFSA composite membranes were found much higher than those of HSS/PFSA membranes due to the introduction of hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups.In a range from 50 ℃ to 130 ℃,the highest conductivity of composite membranes was obtained when 5 wt% SAMHSS was loaded.The maximum conductivity reached 7.5×10-2 S·cm-1 at 100 ℃ and 100% relative humidity,even the temperature increased to 130 ℃,the conductivity of composite membranes with 5 wt% SAMHSS could reach 3.7×10-2 S·cm-1 at 100 % relative humidity,while the conductivity of the recast PFSA was only 2.2×10-3 S·cm-1.

A vacuum nano-casting route to magnetite cores/mesoporous silica shell composites

Hollow mesoporous silica spheres with magnetite cores(HMSMC) have been fabricated by Vacuum Nano-casting Route. The amount of magnetite cores and saturation magnetization value can be easily adjusted by changing the concentration of iron nitrate solution used in the synthesis procedure. Furthermore, the as-prepared HMSMCs still maintain narrow mesopore distribution, high surface area and large pore volume after the hollow cores of hollow mesoporous silica spheres were filled with magnetite particles. Specially, when the saturation magnetization value of as-prepared HMSMCs reaches 22.0 emu/g, the surface area and pore volume of corresponding HMSMCs are 149 m^2/g and 0.19 cm^3/g, respectively, and the pore size is 2.30 nm. The corresponding samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, N_2 sorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating-sample magnetometer.

Preparation of porous hollow silica spheres via a layer-by- layer process and the chromatographic performance

Hollow silica spheres possessing excellent mechanical properties were successfully prepared through a layer-by-layer process using uniform polystyrene （PS） latex fabricated by dispersion polymerization as template. The formation of hollow SiO2 micro-spheres, structures and properties were observed in detail by zeta potential, SEM, TEM, FTIR, TGA and nitrogen sorption porosimetry. The results indicated that the hollow spheres were uniform with particle diameter of 1.6 μm and shell thickness of 150 nm. The surface area was 511 m2/g and the pore diameter was 8.36 nm. A new stationary phase for HPLC was obtained by using C18-derivatized hollow SiO2 micro-spheres as packing materials and the chromatographic properties were evaluated for the separation of some regular small molecules. The packed column showed low column pressure, high values of efficiency （up to about 43 000 plates/m） and appropriate asymmetry factors.

Fabrication linalool-functionalized hollow mesoporous silica spheres nanoparticles for efficiently enhance bactericidal activity

To develop a novel food preservation technology for efficiently enhance bactericidal activity in a long term,hollow mesoporous silica spheres(HMSS)with regular nanostructures were applied to encapsulate natural organic antimicrobial agents.The chemical structures,morphologies and thermal stabilities of linalool,HMSS and linalool-functionalized hollow mesoporous silica spheres(L-HMSS)nanoparticles were evaluated by polarimeter,field emission scanning electron microscope(FE-SEM),transmission electron microscope(TEM),fourier transform infrared(FT-IR),thermal gravimetric analyzer(TGA),nitrogen adsorption-desorption,zeta potential and small angle X-ray diffraction(SXRD).The results show that the linalool was successfully introduced into the cavities of HMSS,and the inorganic host exhibited a high loading capacity of about 1500 mg/g.In addition,after 48 h of incubatio n,the minimum bactericidal concentrations(MBC)of L-HMSS against Escherichia coli(E.coli),Salmonella enterica(S.enterica)and Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus),Listeria monocytogenes(L.monocytogenes)were decreased to be 4(<5)mg/mL and 8(<10)mg/mL,respectively.These results revealed linaloolfunctionalized hollow mesoporous spheres could efficiently improve the bactericidal activities of the organic component.Furthermore,SEM images clearly showed that L-HMSS indeed had an extremely inhibitory effect against gram-negative(E.coli)and gram-positive(S.aureus)by breaking the structure of the cell membrane.This research is of great significance in the application of linalool in nano-delivery system as well as food industry.

Morphology-controlled synthesis of mesoporous silica with co-template of surfactant P123 and ionic liquid [Dmim]Cl

Mesoporous silicas with different morphologies have attracted great interest in the fields of catalysis,separation and so on. In this study, silica hollow tubes with ordered mesopores were synthesized via a novel sol-gel method with an ionic liquid 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride（[Dmim]Cl） and a nonionic surfactant P123（PEO_（20）PPO_（70）PEO_（20）） as the co-template. Comparatively, silica hollow spheres with disordered mesopores were synthesized with only [Dmim]Cl as the template. The template dosage is the key factor in controlling the morphology. The micelles assembly mechanism based on hydrogen bonding interactions is proposed to be responsible for the formation of the final silica morphology and mesostructure.

SiO_2@C hollow sphere anodes for lithium-ion batteries

As anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, SiO2 is of great interest because of its high capacity, low cost and environmental affinity. A facile approach has been developed to fabricate SiO2@C hollow spheres by hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate（TEOS） to form SiO2 shells on organic sphere templates followed by calcinations in air to remove the templates, and then the SiO2 shells are covered by carbon layers.Electron microscopy investigations confirm hollow structure of the SiO2@C. The SiO2@C hollow spheres with different SiO2 contents display gradual increase in specific capacity with discharge/charge cycling,among which the SiO2@C with SiO2 content of 67 wt% exhibits discharge/charge capacities of 653.4/649.6 mAh g^（-1） over 160 cycles at current density of 0.11 mA cm^（-2）. The impedance fitting of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that the SiO2@C with SiO2 content of 67 wt% has the lowest charge transfer resistance, which indicates that the SiO2@C hollow spheres is promising anode candidate for lithium-ion batteries.