Synthesis and characterization of acidic mesoporous borosilicate thin films

Work on the synthesis and characterization of acidic wormhole-like ordered mesoporous borosilicate thin films (MBSTFs) on silicon wafers is described in this paper. The MBSTFs coated by the dip-coating method were prepared through an evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process using nonionic block copolymers as structure-directing agents. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirmed the formation of borosiloxane bonds (Si-O-B). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and N2 sorption evidenced a wormhole-like mesoporous structure in the MBSTFs obtained. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the cross sections and surfaces of the samples showed that MBSTFs on silicon wafers were continuous, homogeneous and did not crack. The acidic properties of the MBSTFs were characterized by FT-IR spectra of chemisorbed pyridine. The MBSTFs thus prepared may find their future applications in many fields including chemical sensors, catalysis, optical coating, molecule separation, etc.