Kobayashi, T., et al., Spatial distribution of organic functional groups supported on mesoporous silica nanoparticles: a study by conventional and DNP-enhanced 29Si solid-state NMR. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2017. 19(3): p. 1781-1789.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28058422
Solid-state NMR spectroscopy, both conventional and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-enhanced, was employed to study the spatial distribution of organic functional groups attached to the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles via co-condensation and grafting. The most revealing information was provided by DNP-enhanced two-dimensional 29Si-29Si correlation measurements, which unambiguously showed that post-synthesis grafting leads to a more homogeneous dispersion of propyl and mercaptopropyl functionalities than co-condensation. During the anhydrous grafting process, the organosilane precursors do not self-condense and are unlikely to bond to the silica surface in close proximity (less than 4 A) due to the limited availability of suitably arranged hydroxyl groups.