New functional materials derived from amorphous silica

Scientific research needs to get the most results with the lowest cost, hence how to modify the low-cost material to elevate its value is a valuable subject with both distinct scientific significance and extensive potential commercial application. This mini-review reports many achievements on this subject, in which amorphous silica is the starting material. Amorphous silica is a common porous oxide with a relatively low cost, but it can be modified to act as various new functional materials as long as the adopted strategy is smart and accurate. As these achievements are revealed in this review, silica can exert its versatility in environment protection as the efficient trapper of volatile nitrosamines, phenol and organophosphorus pesticide. Besides, silica plays the significant role of a solid strong base and thermal releaser of menthol, providing a clue on how to update the low-cost material into a specific new functional material.