Microfluidic Flow Synthesis of Functional Mesoporous\nSilica Nanofibers with Tunable Aspect Ratios

Abstract

Microfluidic techniques open new\nfrontiers for the controllable\nsynthesis of functional micro/nanomaterials with desired shapes for\na variety of applications. In this study, miniaturized spiral-shaped\nmicrochannel with two inlets and one outlet was specially designed\nfor the controllable flow synthesis of mesoporous silica nanofibers\n(MSNFs) using one inlet flow containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide\nand diluted ammonia and the other inlet flow containing diluted tetraethyl\northosilicate. The aspect ratios and diameters of MSNFs can be easily\ntuned by changing the flow rates and/or the concentrations of reactants.\nIn addition, fluorescent dyes, magnetic nanoparticles, therapeutic\ndrugs, or silver nanoparticles can be simultaneously assembled into\nMSNFs to make them promising functional materials in bioimaging, theranostics,\nand catalysis fields.