Radiolaria-like Silica with Radial Spines Fabricated by a Dynamic Self-Organization

Radiolaria-like, hierarchically structured mesoporous silica hollow spheres with long, radially protruding and multicellular structured spines were fabricated through a dynamic self-organization process. This hierarchically structured silica is self-assembled by a unique emulsion-templating method, in which the acidified anionic surfactant N -lauroylsarcosine sodium (Sar-Na) acts as an oil phase instead the usual nonpolar fluids such as chlorocyclohexane or trimethylbenzene. In this way, the surfactants can be pre-stored as the oil phase. Under the succedent experimental procedure, the pre-stored surfactants were gradually released and meanwhile were involved in the co-assembly with silica precursors to form mesostructured silica. The dynamic processes of deformation of oil droplets, release of surfactants, and co-assembly of surfactants and silica precursors result in the complex organization of the hierarchically mesostructured silica.