We demonstrate a strategy for the synthesis of multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles. These uniform tumblerlike nanocomposites, which simultaneously possess magnetic, luminescent, and porous properties, have great potential in biomedical applications.

The 30–100 nm primary particles of mesoporous silica have been conveniently synthesized from a highly dilute aqueous solution of CnTAMX–sodium silicate.

The mesoporous silica submicron-spheres (80–200 nm) with a small dispersion in diameter (< 10%) as the building blocks of the artificial mesoporous silica opals have been synthesized using quaternary ammonium surfactant as template in an aqueous solution of suitable polarity at near neutral condition of pH = 7.0–9.0.

Black solid precursors obtained from reactions between MCl 5 (M = Nb, Ta) and alkyllithiums, n-butyllithium ( n BuLi) and ethyllithium (EtLi), in tetrahydrofuran (THF) were heat treated under vacuum at 673-973 K to form nano-sized particles (20-100 nm in diameter) of lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) and lithium tantalate (LiTaO 3 ). Stoichiometry of the reactants is critical and affects the phases of the products. Based on the volatile byproducts detected, a reaction pathway involving the activation of THF by alkyllithiums is proposed to be important for the formation of LiNbO 3 and LiTaO 3 precursors.