A novel green template for the synthesis of mesoporous silica

Mesoporous pure silicas and functionalized silica with a narrow pore size distribution centered at 3.8 nm were prepared by a novel template, amphiphilic dendritic polyglycerol. The resulting silica materials were characterized by electron microscopy; nitrogen adsorption; H-1, C-13, and Si-29 solid-state cross-polarization magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that the template could be completely removed from the pure and functionalized silica in an environmentally friendly way by means of a simple water extraction procedure. Furthermore, it was shown that these materials could be easily functionalized, for example, by employing aminopropyl groups. Thus, a new environmentally friendly pathway to this fascinating class of silica material has been opened.