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Confined Polymerization in Highly Ordered Mesoporous Organosilicas
Angiolina Comotti1, Silvia Bracco2, Mario Beretta1
1Department of Materials Science, University of Milano Bicocca, Via. R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milan (Italy).
Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|November 13, 2015
Summary
Hybrid mesoporous organosilica enabled confined polymerization of acrylonitrile (PAN) into ordered polymer nanostructures. Subsequent thermal treatment transformed these into carbon nanofibers within a silica matrix, creating advanced nanomaterials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Ordered mesoporous materials offer unique environments for nanoscale synthesis.
- Confined polymerization within porous structures can yield materials with controlled architectures.
- Hybrid organosilica materials combine organic and inorganic properties for advanced applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To utilize hybrid mesoporous organosilica as a template for confined polymerization.
- To investigate the in situ transformation of confined polymers into carbon nanostructures.
- To develop novel graphitic-carbon/silica nanocomposites for potential electronic and light-harvesting applications.
Main Methods:
- Confined polymerization of acrylonitrile (PAN) within ordered hybrid mesoporous organosilica channels.
- In situ thermal transformation of the confined PAN.
- Characterization of the resulting carbonaceous materials and silica matrix.
Main Results:
- High-molecular-mass PAN was synthesized with high yield, forming ordered polymer nanobundles.
- Thermal transformation yielded polyaromatic carbon nanofibers, retaining the periodic architecture.
- Graphitic-carbon/silica nanocomposites with hyper-oxydrylated silica nanophases were formed.
- The 3D hexagonal mesostructure was preserved in the final carbonaceous material.
Conclusions:
- Hybrid mesoporous organosilica serves as an effective reaction vessel for confined polymerization.
- Controlled thermal transformation enables the fabrication of precisely structured carbon nanofibers and nanocomposites.
- The resulting nanostructures hold promise for advanced electronic and light-harvesting material applications.
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