A new 3D organization of mesopores in oriented CTAB silica films

Highly organized and textured CTAB templated silica films are made by the s pin-coating technique. The HRTEM structural characterization of these films clearly shows the formation of a 3D hexagonal structure (P6(3)/mmc space g roup) due to the stabilization of a new phase which does not belong to the phase diagram of CTAB in water. This probably results from the formation in dynamic conditions of a 3D-hexagonal packing of spherical micelles separat ed by polymeric silica walls. The shrinkage of spin-coated films during the drying leads to values of the cia hexagonal ratio weaker than the one corr esponding to the close packed hexagonal structure. This 3D organization is maintained after removal of the surfactant molecules by calcination, leadin g to a new mesoporous material.