Silica (SiO₂) has been widely used as a support for various heterogeneous catalysts because of its Earth abundance, low cost, and large specific surface area. Except for the families of mesoporous and microporous silica, ordinary silica has long been perceived as just an inert support for better dispersion and mechanistic studies. However, recent advances have demonstrated new functionalities of structurally engineered silica to directly maneuver the catalytic performance, of which researchers are largely unaware. In this review, we start with a brief discussion about the fundamental merits of silica. Subsequently, we discuss distinctive features of silica through ingenious designs, which could enhance the activity, stability, and selectivity of heterogeneous catalysts. Finally, we put forward prospects and challenges for designing innovative silica-based catalysts, providing insights into viable techniques for high-performance heterogeneous catalysis.

二氧化硅（SiO ₂) 因其丰富的地球资源、低成本和大的比表面积而被广泛用作各种非均相催化剂的载体。除了介孔和微孔二氧化硅家族外，普通二氧化硅长期以来一直被认为只是一种惰性载体，可以更好地进行分散和机理研究。然而，最近的进展已经证明了结构工程二氧化硅的新功能可以直接操纵催化性能，而研究人员在很大程度上没有意识到这一点。在这篇评论中，我们首先简要讨论二氧化硅的基本优点。随后，我们通过巧妙的设计讨论了二氧化硅的独特特性，这些特性可以提高多相催化剂的活性、稳定性和选择性。最后，