title: Oxide-based inorganic/organic and nanoporous spherical particles: synthesis and functional properties.
abstract: This paper reviews the recent progress in the preparation of oxide-based and heteroatom-doped particles. Surfactant-templated oxide particles, e.g. silica and titania, are possible candidates for various potential applications such as adsorbents, photocatalysts, and optoelectronic and biological materials. We highlight nanoporous oxides of one element, such as silicon or titanium, and those containing multiple elements, which exhibit properties that are not achieved with individual components. Although the multicomponent nanoporous oxides possess a number of attractive functions, the origin of their properties is hard to determine due to compositional/structural complexity. Particles with a well-defined size and shape are keys for a quantitative and detailed discussion on the unique complex properties of the particles. From this viewpoint, we review the synthesis techniques of the oxide particles, which are functionalized with organic molecules or doped with heteroatoms, the physicochemical properties of the particles and the possibilities for their photofunctional applications as complex systems.
authors.affiliation: World Premier International (WPI) Research Center, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Kota
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiba
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Technology, Nagaoka University of Technology, 603-1 Kamitomioka-cho, Nagaoka 940-2188, Japan.
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tagaya
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Physical Sciences and the MacDiarmid Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Tilley
authors.affiliation: Nanotechnology Innovation Station, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-004, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobutaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hanagata
keywords: 10.10; 10.13; 20.09; nanoparticles; nanoporous materials; silica; sol–gel process; titania