title: Mesostructured fatty acid-tethered silicas: sustaining the order by co-templating with bulky precursors.
abstract: The co-condensation of functional alkoxysilanes with tetraethoxysilane in the presence of a structure directing agent under sol-gel process chemistry is a common way to access functional organosilica with an ordered mesostructure. In this report, bulky silylated fatty acid methyl esters were used both as co-templating bio-molecules and functionalizing agents in the process of supra-molecular silica mineralization. The highest structural regularity in terms of pore size distribution and channel size homogeneity was observed for carboxy-tethered silica possessing SBA-15-type architecture due to an enhanced fatty acid precursor-surfactant interaction. The carboxylic surface embedded within the hydrophobic environment of the fatty compounds confers to these materials interesting reactive-surface properties with promising applications as drug-delivery systems and bio-catalytic nanoreactors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (iNANOTECH), Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research (MAScIR), ENSET, Avenue de l'Armée Royale, Madinate Al Irfane, Rabat, Morocco. a.elkadib@mascir.com
authors.forename: Abdelkrim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El Kadib
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katir
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finiels
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castel
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marcotte
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Molvinger
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Biolley
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gaveau
authors.forename: Mosto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bousmina
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brunel