Concentration-dependent mesostructure of surfactant-templated mesoporous silica thin film

Surfactant-templated mesoporous silica thin films by using Brij-76 block copolymer were prepared from self-assembly of organic–inorganic species and the concentration-dependent mesostructure of the films was investigated. Silica sol with various aging time was spin-coated to check the possibility of structural transition from polycondensation reaction. X-ray diffraction and glazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering measurement revealed that mesoporous silica film exhibits body-centered cubic structure depending on the surfactant molar ratio. By varying the concentration of the block copolymer, a mesoporous silica film with different pore size and pore ordering could be prepared. Degradation of mechanical properties of the film was found to be related with the increase of the porosity of mesoporous silica film, i.e., pore size and network wall thickness and the degree of pore ordering.