Functional mesoporous materials

Abstract

Functional mesoporous materials possess new properties as a consequence of their size, shape and microstructure, which give them high versatility for many applications. By controlling those parameters, new biological, photonic, catalytic, energy and environmental applicationshavebeendevelopedand successfully applied toprovide emergent solutions to social, industrial and technological problems. One of themost exciting aspects of working with functional mesoporous materials and their applications is the need of knowledge exchange between different disciplines. Thus, this multidisciplinary character of functional materials science is the main characteristic of this special issue. In this context, the special issue “Functional Mesoporous Materials” of the journal Mesoporous Biomaterials comprise threemini-reviews, one communication, and three regular papers. In these papers, cutting edge research regarding the synthesis of functional mesoporous materials and their impact in biological, photonic and energy applications is presented and discussed. The prospective on using functional mesoporous hydrogels, porous silicon and porous-silicon composites in the biomedical field as drug delivery platforms is covered in the review by Rocha-García and co-workers. Through this mini-review it is shown that mesoporous biosystems can be designed with multi-functions to perform specific and selective tasks. The review covers recent studies fo-