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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Gold Intercalated in the Walls of Mesoporous Silica
Published on: July 9, 2015
Surface Immobilization of pH-Responsive Polymer Brushes on Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles by Enzyme Mimetic
Hang Zhou1, Xin Wang2, Jun Tang3
1College of Chemistry, International Joint Research Laboratory of Nano-Micro Architecture Chemistry (NMAC), Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China. zhouhang0126@126.com.
Abstract:
Peroxidase mimetic catalytic atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was first used to install tertiary amine-functionalized polymer brushes on the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) in a facile and highly efficient manner. Poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) brushes-grafted MSNs were fabricated by biocompatible deuterohemin-β-Ala-His-Thr-Val-Glu-Lys (DhHP-6)-catalyzed surface-initiated ATRP (SI-ATRP). The resulting organic⁻inorganic hybrid nanocarriers were fully characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, TEM, Elemental analysis, Zeta-potential, and N₂ adsorption⁻desorption isotherms, which demonstrated the successful coating of pH-responsive polymers on the MSN surface. Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) dyes were further loaded within the mesopores of this nanocarrier, and the release of Rh6G out of MSNs in a controlled fashion was achieved upon lowing the solution pH. The electrostatic repulsion of positively-charged tertiary ammonium of PDMAEMAs in acidic environments induced the stretching out of polymer brushes on MSN surfaces, thus opening the gates to allow cargo diffusion out of the mesopores of MSNs.
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