Porous crystalline iron oxide thin films templated by mesoporous silica

Continuous thin films of SBA-16 mesoporous silica with three-dimensional accessible pore structures (space group Im3¯m) have been prepared on indium-tin oxide glass (ITO) via a dip-coating technique using F-127 surfactants as the structure-directing agent in the non-aqueous media and under acidic conditions. The porous film was then used as a template to produce three-dimensional porous crystals of iron oxide by electrochemical deposition of iron metal followed by in-situ oxidation. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed several morphologies of the porous γ-Fe2O3 particles. The detailed structures of these particles were examined by electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy.