These applications are particularly useful in the agri-food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and fine chemicals fields. Being able to produce larger quantities in less time opens the door to the introduction of this nanoparticle into the industry. In addition, the initiative manages to reduce production costs and environmental impact.

The project, funded by the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI), consists of scaling up equipment to produce mesoporous silicas of the MCM-41, UVM-7, SBA-15... type by means of microwaves in a continuous process. Mesoporous solids have desirable characteristics such as chemical stability, easiness of functionalisation, biocompatibility, etc.

The results of the research will be presented during an online conference to be held this Wednesday, 15th December, from 9.30 am at the institutes of the Science Park (Parc Científic) of the Universitat, on the Burjassot/Paterna campus. Registrations can be made through the following link: https://forms.gle/eXpgz5nf964PJUYv6

So far, the applications of this type of material are limited since the conventional synthesis of the material produces small quantities of solid and requires several days of work, making large-scale production unfeasible.

However, by applying solid-state microwave energy, it has been possible to reduce the time required to obtain them while improving the repeatability and perfomance of the process. This method is optimal for scaling up the synthesis of the material, as it allows a fast, controlled and homogeneous heating of the mixture, obtaining solids with little dispersion of properties.

REDOLÍ conducts multidisciplinary and collaborative research applied in the fields of recognition, sustainability and innovation. The nanostructured materials group (GMN) is part of the Institute of Materials Science (ICMUV) of the Universitat de València, whose data can be consulted at: https://redoli.blogs.uv.es/