Fabrication and characterization of mesoporous silica nanochannels inside the channels of anodic alumina membrane

Brij type surfactants (CnEOx) that have different chemical structures were used to fabricate 3D Mesoporous Silica Nanochannels (MSN) inside the channels of Anodic Alumina Membrane (AAM) under acidic conditions. The fabricated 3D MSN were characterized using TEM-ED, SEM, Small angle XRD, and N2 isotherm. Results revealed that the synthesis of ordered 3D cubic Im3m mesostructures can be formed with tunable pore diameters varied from 4.0 to 4.9 nm that are partially affected with the length of ethylene oxide (EO) group in the template surfactant.