Mesoporous Films and Polymer Brushes Helping Each Other To Modulate Ionic Transport in Nanoconfined Environments. An Interesting Example of Synergism in Functional Hybrid Assemblies

Abstract

Rational design of fully synthetic platforms displaying active control over ionic transport in close resemblance to biological systems represents an ongoing challenge in molecular materials science. Here, we demonstrate that the synergism arising from the chemistries involved in mesoporous films and polymer brushes is a key enabler to next-generation "smart" nanofilters capable of mimicking the gating functions of specific biological channels. Hybrid functional assemblies constituted of mesoporous silica films modified with polyzwitterionic brushes are able to discriminate and gate the transport of cations while the passage of anionic species is precluded. The synthetic membranes behave as proton-gated cation-selective platforms mimicking the functioning of acid-sensing ion channels encountered in the neurons of the central nervous system. We believe that this experimental evidence will stimulate further multidisciplinary work across the boundaries of materials chemistry to attain new functional nanostructured interfaces with transport properties so far believed to be exclusive features of biological channels.

Wetting of prototypical one- and two-dimensional systems: Thermodynamics and density functional theory

“…In applications, enhancing our understanding of adsorption in small pores is essential in new and rapidly developing branches of engineering and science such as microand nano-fluidics, [1][2][3][4][5] biomimetics, 6,7 colloidal science, [8][9][10] and the design and operation of lab-on-a chip devices. 11,12 Investigations of wetting in prototypical nano-sized pores also provide a foundation for understanding adsorption on patterned substrates and the phenomenon of superhydrophobicity and superspreading. 13,14 In this study, we consider three prototypical systems, a planar wall, a slit pore, and a capped capillary in contact with undersaturated vapor of a fluid with long-range intermolecular fluid-fluid and fluid-substrate interactions.…”

Polymer‐Modified Mesoporous Silica Thin Films for Redox‐Mediated Selective Membrane Gating

“…[ 17 ] Consecutively, the incorporation of polymer brushes [18][19][20] into the mesopores enables a precise control over the density of functional groups incorporated in the pores, as well as endows the mesoporous scaffold with built-in responses to chemical stimuli. [ 21 ] Thereby, the functionalization strategy such as grafting to by covalent or electrostatic binding, [22][23][24] or grafting from by using surface initiated polymerization protocols, might result in different functional density already on planar surfaces. [ 18 , 25-27 ] For mesoporous fi lms, possible local differences due to limited diffusion might occur additionally.…”

Capillary condensation in deformable mesopores: wetting versus nanomechanics

“…These systems have received a lot of attention because they play a key role in many important applications or processes such as nanoreactors in catalysis [5], filtering processes [6], or the purification of tiny amounts of multi-component mixtures [7]. Most of these applications are possible only because of the large internal surface of mesoporous materials.…”