The application of silica mesoporous structures in drug delivery and the removal of pollutants and organic compounds through catalytic reactions is increasing due to their unique characteristics, including high loading capacities, tunable pores, large surface areas, sustainability, and so on. This review focuses on very well-studied class of different construction mesoporous silica nano(particles), such as MCM-41, SBA-15, and SBA-16. We discuss the essential parameters involved in the synthesis of these materials with providing a diverse set of examples. In addition, the recent advances in silica mesoporous structures for drug delivery and catalytic applications are presented to fill the existing gap in the literature with providing some promising examples on this topic for the scientists in both industry and academia active in the field. Regarding the catalytic applications, mesoporous silica particles have shown some promises to remove the organic pollutants and to synthesize final products with high yields due to the ease with which their surfaces can be modified with various ligands to create appropriate interactions with target molecules. In the drug delivery process, as nanocarriers, they have also shown very good performance thanks to the easy surface functionalization but also adjustability of their porosities to providing in-vivo and in-vitro cargo delivery at the target site with appropriate rate.

Natural phosphate was applied as an efficient and ecofriendly catalyst for the synthesis of tetraketones (2-2.5 h, 90-100 %) and xanthenes (6.5-8.5 h, 84-95 %) via Knoevenagel-Michael cascade reaction of aromatic aldehydes with 1,3-cyclic diketones in water and ethanol, respectively. This protocol provides several advantages over the traditional chemical synthesis, such as simple work-up, easy handling procedure, nontoxicity and stability of catalyst, low cost and environmental friendliness. Graphical Abstract& Mahmood Tajbakhsh

Cu(NO3)2 supported on natural phosphate, Cu(ii)/NP, was prepared by co-precipitation and characterized. The Cu(ii)/NP catalyzed the synthesis of xanthenes and triazoles. The proposed protocols provided significant economic and environmental advantages.