Tricontinuous cubic nanostructure and pore size patterning in mesostructured silica films templated with glycerol monooleate

The fabrication of nanostructured silica films possessing tricontinuous minimal surface mesophases with well-defined framework and pore connectivity remains a difficult task. As a new route to these structures, we introduce glycerol monooleate (GMO) as a template for evaporation-induced self-assembly. As deposited, a nanostructured double gyroid phase is formed, as indicated by analysis of grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering data. Removal of GMO by UV/O3 treatment or acid extraction induces a phase change to a nanoporous body-centered structure, which we tentatively identify as based on the IW-P surface. To improve film quality, we add a cosurfactant to the GMO in a mass ratio of 1:10; when this cosurfactant is cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, we find an unusually large pore size (8-12 nm) in acid extracted films, while UV/O3 treated films yield pores of only about 4 nm. Using this pore size dependence on the film processing procedure, we create a simple method for patterning pore size in nanoporous films, demonstrating spatially defined size-selective molecular adsorption. © 2011 American Chemical Society.