Mesoporous silica particles have been synthesized by sol-gel method from tetraethoxysilane (tetraethylorthosilicate, TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTES), in ethanol and water mixture, at different ratios of the of the silica precursors. Ammonia was used as catalyst at room temperature and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) as the structure directing agent. Nitrogen sorption, X-ray diffraction and small-angle neutron scattering gave information on the evolution of the gel structure and pore morphologies in the function of MTES/TEOS molar ratio. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis showed that with addition of MTES the exothermic peak indicating the oxidation of the low molecular weight organic fragments shift to higher temperature. A room-temperature, one-pot synthesis of MCM-41 type materials is presented, in which the variation of the MTES concentration allows to change the hydrophobicity, preserving the specific properties materials, like the ordered pore structure, large specific surface area and high porosity, making them suitable for selective uptake of guest species in drug loading applications. Specifically, the obtained materials had cylindrical pores, specific surface areas up to 1101 m 2 /g and total pore volumes up to 0.473 cm 3 /g. The obtained mesoporous materials are susceptible for further functionalization to improve their selective uptake of guest species in drug delivery applications.

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Hybrid organic–inorganic composites comprising cyanoethyl ester of poly(vinyl alcohol) (CEPVA) and submicron-sized barium titanate with a core–shell structure are studied. For the first time, the permittivity of obtained composites was studied in correlation with the acid–base properties of the filler and controlled via the filler surface modification by the formation of core–shell structures using sol–gel and plasma processes. The permittivity is found to grow with the increase in the content of Brønsted basic centers on the filler surface due to enhanced interactions with acid groups of polymer. This effect is especially prominent in the case of silica nanocoating deposited onto BaTiO3 surface. The permittivity of the studied composites is approximated by a modified Lichtenecker equation based on permittivity values of individual components, their concentrations, and a specific parameter characterizing their acid–base interaction.

A simple one-step method is presented for fabricating inorganic nanosponges with a kaolinite [Al2Si2O5(OH)4] structure. The nanosponges were synthesized by the hydrothermal treatment of aluminosilicate gels in an acidic medium (pH = 2.6) at 220 °C without using organic cross-linking agents, such as cyclodextrin or polymers. The formation of the nanosponge morphology was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, and the assignment of the synthesized aluminosilicates to the kaolinite group was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The effect of the synthesis conditions, in particular, the nature (HCl, HF, NaOH, and H2O) and pH of the reaction medium (2.6, 7, and 12), as well as the duration of the synthesis (3, 6, and 12 days), on the morphology of aluminosilicates of the kaolinite group was studied. The sorption capacity of aluminosilicate nanosponges with respect to cationic (e.g., methylene blue) and anionic (e.g., azorubine) dyes in aqueous solutions was studied. The pH sensitivity of the surface ζ potential of the synthesized nanosponges was demonstrated. The dependence of the hemolytic activity (the ability to destroy erythrocytes) of aluminosilicate nanoparticles on the particle morphology (platy, spherical, and nanosponge) has been identified for the first time. Aluminosilicate nanosponges were not found to exhibit hemolytic activity. The prospects of using aluminosilicate nanosponges to prepare innovative functional materials for ecology and medicine applications, in particular, as matrices for drug delivery systems, were identified.

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