Iron nanoparticles in capsules: derived from mesoporous silica-protected Prussian blue microcubes for efficient selenium removal

A spatially confined reduction strategy for the fabrication of small nanoparticles in a micro-box is reported, where iron nanoparticles with uniform diameter are highly distributed in a carbon matrix and surrounded by a mesoporous silica layer. Due to their unique confined nanostructure, the Fe/C@mSiO2 capsules could effectively remove and recycle Se(iv) from a low concentration solution.