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Explainer · Mesoporous materials

Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous thin films

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Motivations

This project aims at investigating the possibility of tuning the optical and thermal properties of dense material by introducing nanometric pores. The pores can have various shapes, sizes, and spatial arrangements resulting in a wide range of porosity. Applications range from solar cells, optoelectronics, to membrane sciences to optical data storage, photocatalysts, and low-k dielectric materials. In all these applications, optical and/or thermal properties are essential to design devices and use the novel materials.

The mesoporous thin films were synthesized by Prof. Sarah Tolbert's group at UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry Department.

Synthesis recipes of mesoporous silicon dioxide thin films by evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) of surfactant micelles in silica precursor

Synthesis recipe for cubic mesoporous silica thin films

Figure from the explainer: Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous thin films

Synthesis recipe for hexagonal mesoporous silica thin films

Figure from the explainer: Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous thin films

Scanning Electron Microscope Images

SEM of cubic mesoporous silica thin films

Figure from the explainer: Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous thin filmsFigure from the explainer: Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous thin films

SEM of hexagonal mesoporous silica thin films

Figure from the explainer: Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous thin filmsFigure from the explainer: Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous thin films

X-Ray diffraction and scattering

Normalized 1D-X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) intensity measurements for mesoporous silica thin films synthesized with Brij76 (cubic), P123 (cubic and hexagonal) and KLE (cubic).
Normalized 1D-X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) intensity measurements for mesoporous silica thin films synthesized with Brij76 (cubic), P123 (cubic and hexagonal) and KLE (cubic).
2D-Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) patterns of (A) a P123 cubic and (B) a P123 hexagonal mesoporous silica thin films.
2D-Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) patterns of (A) a P123 cubic and (B) a P123 hexagonal mesoporous silica thin films.

Publications

  1. J. Fang, C. Kang, Y. Huang, S.H. Tolbert, and L. Pilon, 2012. Thermal Conductivity of Ordered Mesoporous Nanocrystalline Silicon Thin Films Made from Magnesium Reduction of Polymer-Templated Silica, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 116, No. 23, pp. 12926–12933.DOIPDF
  2. J. Fang, C. Reitz, T. Brezesinski , E. J. Nemanick, C.B. Kang, S.H. Tolbert, and L. Pilon, 2011. Thermal Conductivity of Highly-Ordered Mesoporous Titania Thin Films from 30 to 320 K, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 115, No. 30, pp 14606–14614.DOIPDF
  3. T. Coquil, C. Reitz, T. Brezesinski , E. J. Nemanick, S.H. Tolbert, and L. Pilon, 2010. Thermal Conductivity of Ordered Mesoporous Titania Films Made from Nanocrystalline Building Blocks and Sol–Gel Reagents, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 114, no. 29, pp 12451-12458.DOIPDF
  4. N. Hutchinson , T. Coquil, E. Richman, S. Tolbert, and L. Pilon, 2010. Reflectance of Surfactant-Templated Mesoporous Silica Thin Films: Simulations versus Experiments, Thin Solid Films, Vol. 518, No.8, pp. 2134-2140.DOIPDF
  5. T. Coquil, E. Richman, N. Hutchinson, S. Tolbert, and L. Pilon, 2009. Thermal Conductivity of Cubic and Hexagonal Mesoporous Silica Thin Films, Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 106, no.3, 034910. Selected to appear in Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology, Vol. 20, no.8, August 24, 2009.DOIPDF