Access in mesoporous materials: Advantages of a uniform pore structure in the design of a heavy metal ion adsorbent for environmental remediation

The access of guest species to the binding sites of adsorbent determines the metal‐binding capacity of materials, which is important for example in environmental remediation efforts. It is shown that MP‐HMS, the mercaptopropylsilane‐functionalized derivative of the molecualr sieve HMS, with its regular pore structure is a much better Hg 2⊕ absorbent than silica gels, in which functionalization leads to pore blocking (see Figure). magnified image