Preparation of mesoporous silica films on a glass slide: surfactant template removal by solvent extraction

Mesoporous silica films have been deposited on glass slides by the dip-coat ing method. Solvent extraction was used to completely remove the structure- directing surfactant with a carefully selected dilute HCl/EtOH solution, wh ich was confirmed by Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and t he films' ordered mesostructure was maintained. The weak bonding between te mplate ions and inorganic species of thin film materials also resulted in t he complete extraction of surfactant template with the ethanol solution. Sm all-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD) patterns and transmission electron micr oscope (TEM) images indicated that as-deposited and extracted films had a p eriodic hexagonal structure with the channels parallel to the substrate sur face. The N-2 adsorption and desorption isotherms also showed that the film was a typical mesoporous material with pore channel size of about 2.4 nm. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.