Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Minkee Choi.
A direct hydrothermal assembly process was developed to synthesize mesoporous aluminophosphates that are constructed with crystalline microporous frameworks, by the addition of organosilane surfactants into the conventional synthesis composition for crystalline microporous aluminophosphates.
Zeolites are a family of crystalline aluminosilicate materials widely used as shape-selective catalysts, ion exchange materials, and adsorbents for organic compounds. In the present work, zeolites were synthesized by adding a rationally designed amphiphilic organosilane surfactant to conventional alkaline zeolite synthesis mixtures. The zeolite products were characterized by a complementary combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen sorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analyses show that the present method is suitable as a direct synthesis route to highly mesoporous zeolites. The mesopore diameters could be uniformly tailored, similar to ordered mesoporous silica with amorphous frameworks. The mesoporous zeolite exhibited a narrow, small-angle XRD peak, which is characteristic of the short-range correlation between mesopores, similar to disordered wormhole-like mesoporous materials. The XRD patterns and electron micrographs of the samples taken during crystallization clearly showed the evolution of the mesoporous structure concomitantly to the crystallization of zeolite frameworks. The synthesis of the crystalline aluminosilicate materials with tunable mesoporosity and strong acidity has potentially important technological implications for catalytic reactions of large molecules, whereas conventional mesoporous materials lack hydrothermal stability and acidity.
Free-radical polymerization inside mesoporous silica has been investigated in order to open a route to functional polymer-silica composite materials with well-defined mesoporosity. Various vinyl monomers, such as styrene, chloromethyl styrene, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and methacrylic acid, were polymerized after impregnation into mesoporous silicas with various structures, which were synthesized using polyalkylene oxide-type block copolymers. The location of the polymers was systematically controlled with detailed structures of the silica framework and the polymerization conditions. Particularly noteworthy is the polymer-silica composite structure obtained by in situ polymerization after the selective adsorption of monomers as a uniform film on silica walls. The analysis of XRD data and the N(2) adsorption isotherms indicates the formation of uniform polymer nanocoating. The resultant polymer-silica composite materials can easily be post-functionalized to incorporate diverse functional groups in high density, due to the open porous structure allowing facile access for the chemical reagent. The fundamental characteristics of the composite materials are substantiated by testing the biomolecule's adsorption capacity and catalytic reactivity. Depending on the structure and composition of polymers, the resultant polymer-silica composite materials exhibit notably distinct adsorption properties toward biomolecules, such as proteins. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the nanocoatings of polymers deposited on the mesopore walls have remarkably enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity, as compared to that of bulk polymer resins. We believe that, due to facile functionalization and attractive textural properties, the mesoporous polymer-silica composite materials are very useful for applications, such as adsorption, separation, host-guest complexes, and catalysis.
Convenient and commercially viable synthesis conditions are described, providing efficient and reproducible control of pore connectivity and pore wall thickness for the synthesis of high quality SBA-15 mesoporous silica.
Nanostructured organic materials, particularly those constructed with uniform nanopores, have been sought for a long time in materials science. There have been many successful reports on the synthesis of nanostructured organic materials using the so-called, 'supramolecular liquid crystal templating' route. Ordered nanoporous polymeric materials can also be synthesized through a polymerization route using colloidal or mesoporous silica templates. The organic pore structures constructed by these approaches, however, are lower in mechanical strength and resistance to chemical treatments than nanoporous inorganic, silica and carbon materials. Moreover, the synthesis of the organic materials is yet of limited success in the variation of pore sizes and structures, whereas a rich variety of hexagonal and cubic structures is available with tunable pore diameters in the case of the inorganic materials. Here we describe a synthesis strategy towards ordered nanoporous organic polymers, using mesoporous carbon as the retaining framework. The polymer-carbon composite nanoporous materials exhibit the same chemical properties of the organic polymers, whereas the stability of the pores against mechanical compression, thermal and chemical treatments is greatly enhanced. The synthesis strategy can be extended to various compositions of hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic polymers, with various pore diameters, connectivity and shapes. The resultant materials exhibiting surface properties of the polymers, as well as the electric conductivity of the carbon framework, could provide new possibilities for advanced applications. Furthermore, the synthesis strategy can be extended to other inorganic supports such as mesoporous silicas.