Topology-enhanced oil adsorption by flower-like mesoporous silica nanoparticles for advanced cosmetic oil control

Abstract

To address the growing demand for advanced oil-control materials in cosmetics, this study developed novel flower-like mesoporous silica nanoparticles (FLS) with topology-enhanced oil–adsorption properties. Using a biphasic microemulsion synthesis strategy, FLS with petal-like surface topology, radial pore channels, and excellent colloidal stability were successfully prepared. Compared with conventional mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) with small mesopores (2–3 nm) synthesized via the classical Stöber method, FLS exhibited significantly superior oil-absorption capacity across a wide range of oils, with maximum uptake nearly twice that of MSN. Notably, FLS showed exceptional adsorption efficiency for large-molecular-weight oils, demonstrating an approximately 226.3% increase over MSN in adsorbing PDMS-15000 w. This remarkable enhancement is attributed to the unique flower-like topology, which provides large open concave structures for instantaneous oil wetting and straight, radially aligned mesochannels for rapid oil transport and maximized pore utilization. In vivo human skin tests further confirmed the cosmetic efficacy of FLS. Collectively, these findings position FLS as a next-generation oil-control material and highlight topology-enhanced oil adsorption as a novel design strategy for advanced adsorbents.