Fabrication of Mesoporous Silica Films via a Novel Route Providing a Wide Processing Time Window

We have developed an economical and environmentally benign process for the fabrication of mesoporous silica films. The approach involves redispersion of the as-synthesized silica-surfactant hybrid in an organic solvent to form the transparent coating sol. The sol provided a much wider processing time window for the films, and ordered mesoporous silica films could be fabricated even after storing the sol for a long period of time. The key feature of this work is that the uncontrolled silica condensation, proceeding during drying, in the as-synthesized silica-surfactant hybrid is arrested by redispersing it in an inert organic solvent.