The polymer–inorganic hybrid core–shell nanospheres with N-(para-toluenesulfonyl)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine in the core and the poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) polymer in the shell were prepared by using a sol–gel process. The surface properties of solid catalysts were modified by controlling PMA and the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactant in the shell. The water contact angle results suggest that the presence of PMA and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in the shell increases the surface hydrophobicity. In the Rh-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones in aqueous HCOONa, the solid catalyst with higher surface hydrophobicity demonstrates higher activity, which suggests that suitable surface properties increase the reaction rate by increasing the diffusion rates of hydrophobic substrates. Furthermore, this heterogeneous catalyst can be reused conveniently without loss of ee values.

Macromolecular crowding is an ubiquitous phenomenon in living cells that significantly affects the function of enzymes in vivo. However, this effect has not been paid much attention in the research of the immobilization of enzymes onto mesoporous silica. Herein, we report the combined effects of macromolecular crowding and surface hydrophobicity on the performance of an immobilized enzyme by accommodating lipase molecules into a series of mesoporous silicas with different amounts of inert poly(methacrylate) (PMA) covalently anchored inside the nanopores. The incorporation of the PMA polymer into the nanopores of mesoporous silica enables the fabrication of a crowded and hydrophobic microenvironment for the immobilized enzyme and the variation in polymer content facilitates an adjustment of the degree of crowding and surface properties of this environment. Based on this system, the catalytic features of immobilized lipase were investigated as a function of polymer content in nanopores and the results indicated that the catalytic efficiency, thermostability, and reusability of immobilized lipase could all be improved by taking advantage of the macromolecular crowding effect and surface hydrophobicity. These findings provide insight into the possible functions of the macromolecular crowding effect, which should be considered and integrated into the fabrication of suitable mesoporous silicas to improve enzyme immobilization.

A solvothermal post-treatment method was developed to synthesize Fe₃O₄@mesosilica core–shell nanospheres (CSNs) with a well-preserved morphology, mesoporous structure, and tunable large pore diameters (2.5–17.6 nm) for the first time. N,N-Dimethylhexadecylamine (DMHA), which was generated in situ during the heat-treatment process, was mainly responsible for this pore-size enlargement, as characterized by NMR spectroscopy. This pore-size expansion can be strengthened with the aid of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), whilst the nature of the surface of the Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs can be easily modified with trimethylsilyl groups during the pore-size-expansion process. The hydrophobicity of the Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs increased for the enlarged mesopores and the adsorption capacity of these CSNs for benzene (up to 1.5 g g⁻¹) is the highest ever reported for Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs. The resultant Fe₃O₄@mesosilica CSNs (pore size: 10 nm) showed a 3.6-times higher adsorption capacity of lysozyme than those without the pore expansion (pore size: 2.5 nm), thus making them a good candidate for loading large molecules.

Pd-doped propyl sulfonic acid-functionalized hollow nanospheres proved to be efficient bifunctionalized catalysts for the one-pot synthesis of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) from acetone and hydrogen in liquid phase. These hollow nanospheres exhibited a higher activity than their bulk mesoporous counterparts (SBA-15 or FDU-12), mainly due to the short diffusion resistance of hollow nanospheres. Hollow nanospheres with silica frameworks showed higher activity and selectivity for MIBK than those with ethane-bridged frameworks, suggesting that hollow nanospheres with hydrophilic surface properties favor the formation of MIBK. This is probably due to the increased affinity of the hydrophilic surface towards acetone and its decreased affinity towards MIBK, which precludes deep condensation of MIBK with acetone. Under optimal conditions, up to 90 % selectivity for MIBK can be obtained with conversions of acetone as high as 43 %. This result is among the best reported so far for mesoporous silica-based catalysts. The control/fine-tuning of morphology and surface properties provides an efficient strategy for improving the catalytic performance of solid catalysts.

(R)-(+)-Binol-functionalized chiral periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) with different framework compositions were successfully synthesized by cocondensation of (R)-2,2′-di(methoxymethyl)oxy-6,6′-di(1-propyltrimethoxysilyl)-1,1′-binaphthyl (BSBinol) with 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane (BTME) and tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) using triblock copolymer P123 as a template in acidic solution. The mixture of BTME and BSBinol can result in a highly ordered mesostructure in an acidic medium but the mesoporous materials synthesized using a mixture of TMOS and BSBinol can only be obtained in a weak acidic buffer solution. All the materials are efficient catalysts (coordinated with Ti) for asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. The chiral PMO with ethane and (R)-(+)-Binol in the framework exhibits an enantioselectivity as high as 90 % with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 104 h⁻¹, which is even higher than the homogeneous (R)-(+)-Binol catalyst (83 % ee with TOF of 96 h⁻¹) using toluene as solvent under similar conditions. This work demonstrates the positive effect of the rigid pore wall in increasing the enantioselectivity of the chiral PMOs.

Chirally functionalized hollow nanospheres with different surface properties were successfully synthesized by co-condensation of (2S,1′R,2′R)-N-tert-butyloxycarbonylpyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid [2′-(4-trimethoxysilylbenzylamide)cyclohexyl] amide with 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane or tetramethoxysilane using F127 (EO₁₀₆PO₇₀EO₁₀₆) as surfactant in water. The TEM and N₂ sorption characterizations show that the particle size of the hollow nanosphere is 15–21 nm with a core diameter of 10–16 nm. These L-prolinamide-functionalized hollow nanospheres are highly efficient solid catalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction between cyclohexanone and aromatic aldehydes. It was found that the addition of water in the reaction system not only enhanced the catalytic activity but also increased the enantioselectivity, which is probably due to the enhanced hydrogen bond between the amide oxygen atom and the hydroxyl group of water. Moreover, the catalytic activity increases sharply as the surface hydrophobicity of the hollow nanospheres increases. These hollow nanospheres are quite stable and can be reused with almost the same enantioselectivity and only a slight decrease in catalytic activity.

(R)-(+)-1,1′-Bi-2-naphthol ((R)-(+)-Binol)-functionalized (Binol=2,2′-dihydroxy-1,1′-binaphthyl) chiral mesoporous organosilica nanospheres with uniform particle size (100 to 300 nm) have been synthesized by co-condensation of tetraethoxysilane and (R)-2,2′-di(methoxymethyl)oxy-6,6′-di(1-propyl trimethoxysilyl)-1,1′-binaphthyl in a basic medium with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the template. Nanospheres with a radiative 2D hexagonal channel arrangement exhibit higher enantioselectivity and turnover frequency than those with a penetrating 2D hexagonal channel arrangement (94 versus 88 % and 43 versus 15 h⁻¹, respectively) in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. In addition, under similar conditions, the enantioselectivity of the nanospheres can be greatly improved as the structural order of the framework increases. These results clearly show that the structural order of nanospheres affects enantioselective reactions. The enantioselectivity of the nanospheres synthesized by the co-condensation method is higher than that of nanospheres prepared by a grafting method and even higher than that of their homogeneous counterpart. These results indicate that the bite angle of (R)-(+)-Binol bridging in a more rigid porous network is in a more favorable position for achieving higher enantioselectivity. The efficiency of a co-condensation method for the synthesis of high-performance heterogeneous asymmetric catalysts is also reported.

A novel chiral mesoporous organosilica with L-tartardiamide moieties integrated in the backbone has been synthesized for the first time by a mild synthetic approach with block copolymer P123 as a template. The materials have highly ordered 2D hexagonal mesostructure and uniform pore size in the range of 7.6 to 5.5 nm. NMR, IR, and TG analyses confirm that the tartardiamide group was successfully incorporated into the framework. The intrinsic chirality of L-tartardiamide endows the materials with unique optical activities and chiral-recognition properties. By dissolving the materials into NaOH, the solutions show rotation of polarized light by +8.42° to +15.53°, depending on the amount of the chiral moieties in the materials. Owing to the chirality of L-tartardiamide, the materials exhibited chiral-induction ability in the epoxidation of allyl alcohol, thus further demonstrating the chirality of the materials.