Mesoporous silica hollow spheres were quickly synthesized with a simple reaction media which only contains tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as silica source, octylamine (OA) as template besides water. It is proposed that a dispersion of TEOS/OA is formed upon water addition. Faste surface of dispersed droplets. Hollow shells are formed due to the contraction caused by the large difference in densities of condensed silica and liquid TEOS. In the meantime, OA assembles with silica, templating nanopores in the silica shells. In addition, OA is the indispensable catalyst for the hydrolysis and condensation of TEOS.
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