The article is about a novel material for application in optoelectronic devices: mesoporous silica in the form of thin films with vertically aligned channels containing anchored propyl-copper-phosphonate functional groups.

The paper is about a new class of antimicrobial functional nanomaterials. Proposed compounds are based on SBA-15 porous silica matrices and contain anchored copper ions. Thanks to the immobilization of functional groups the compounds are safer for environment than commonly used disinfectant agents. We prepared and examined silica based materials containing two concentrations of copper-containing groups: 10 and 5%. For the reference we prepared samples containing free-standing CuO molecules in the structure and checked their antimicrobial properties. Antibacterial effect of considered SBA-15-Cu material was tested onEscherichia colibacteria. Antimicrobial tests were applied for the pure form of the material and as modifying agents for plastics. The obtained results showed that the sample with lower concentration of active copper-containing groups has stronger antimicrobial properties than the one with higher concentration of copper. Interestingly, silica containing free-standing CuO molecules has no antimicrobial properties. Considering the obtained results, we can conclude that the most probable antimicrobial mechanism in this case is an oxidation stress. When a plastic modifier is applied the material is enriched with bacterial inhibitory properties. It seems that SBA-15 silica containing low concentration of anchored copper ions is promising in terms of its antibacterial property and biomaterial potential for commercial use.

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Mesoporous silica SBA-15 containing propyl-iron-phosphonate groups were considered to confirm their molecular structure. To detect the iron-containing group configuration the Mössbauer spectroscopy was used. Both mesoporous silica SBA-15 containing propyl-iron-phosphonate groups and pure doping agent (iron acetylacetate) were investigated using Mössbauer spectroscopy. The parameters such as isomer shift, quadrupole splitting, and asymmetry in57Fe Mössbauer spectra were analyzed. The differences in Mössbauer spectra were explained assuming different local surroundings of Fe nuclei. On this base we were able to conclude about activation of phosphonate units by iron ions and determinate the oxidation state of the metal ion. To examine bonding between iron atoms and phosphonic units the resonance Raman spectroscopy was applied. The density functional theory (DFT) approach was used to make adequate calculations. The distribution of active units inside silica matrix was estimated by comparison of calculated vibrational spectra with the experimental ones. Analysis of both Mössbauer and resonance Raman spectra seems to confirm the correctness of the synthesis procedure. Also EDX elemental analysis confirms our conclusions.