Agricultural and industrial waste-derived mesoporous silica nanoparticles: A review on chemical synthesis route

• Published in: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
• Main Author: Abdul Razak N.A.; Othman N.H.; Mat Shayuti M.S.; Jumahat A.; Sapiai N.; Lau W.J.
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85124026453&doi=10.1016%2fj.jece.2022.107322&partnerID=40&md5=544d1986f1c5d55c1fddb4003f0c18bf

In recent years, the amount of agricultural and industrial wastes being generated is increasing rapidly. This leads to numerous disposals, governance, and environmental issues. Therefore, the re-utilisation of these wastes into value-added products such as mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) has attracted great attention. MSNs have garnered immense attention in various applications owing to their tuneable pore dimensions, high surface areas, and tailorable structure, suitable for different post-functionalisation. In this review, recent progress on the synthesis of MSNs from waste using a chemical synthesis route is presented. This route offers the possibility to control silica structure, phase, morphology, and sizes by fine tuning the reaction parameters/conditions. The characteristics and applications of the MSNs produced are also analysed to examine the potential of using agricultural and industrial waste as the silica precursor. Although the use of inexpensive waste-derived materials seems promising for both waste reduction and value-added products synthesis, further research is still needed to boost the production of silica especially at a larger scale. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd