Toward multichannel core-shell catalysts: Utilizing templating of silica sols with SBA-15 to achieve core-shell architecture in multichannel catalysts featuring a hierarchical porous structure

We synthesized multichannel core-shell catalysts based on SBA-15 embedded in silica with a hierarchical porous structure. The addition of SBA-15 to silica sol changed the porous structure both at the macro- and mesoscale, contributing to the generation of additional phase separation, and thus forming a core-shell structure containing SBA-15 domains surrounded by a mesoporous silica film. These novel hybrid materials, similar to their precursors, i.e., hierarchical porous materials, can be potentially applied as carriers for catalysts, drugs, or enzymes, or as flow-through (bio)chemical microreactors.