Continuous synthesis of nanostructured silica based materials in a gas–liquid segmented flow tubular reactor

Abstract

A continuous synthesis of several spherical silica structures – by means of a gas–liquid segmented flow tubular reactor – is reported. Specifically, as proof of concept, we showed that 300–400 nm mesoporous core–shell spheres (SiO₂@mSiO₂), mesoporous spheres (mSiO₂) as well gold-encapsulated spheres (Au@SiO₂) can be effectively produced in a continuous manner in a tubular reactor. Thus, the successful conversion of classical batch methods to continuous processes opens new possibilities for the up-scaled synthesis of advanced nanostructured materials.