Abstract
In this study, two-dimensional hexagonal mesoporous silica thin films of SBA-15 were synthesized via dip-coating using an evaporation-induced self-assembly process. The effect of the withdrawal speed on the thickness of the films, one-dimensional pore alignments and two-dimensional hexagonal pore arrays was elucidated. The film thickness increases with increasing withdrawal speed and also increases upon decreasing the withdrawal speed to ultraslow region where capillary rise of the solution occurs. Detailed analyses of FE-SEM and TEM images and XRD patterns of the synthesized thin films clarified that the pore sizes and interplanar spacing also depend on the withdrawal speed; this suggests that the film thickness and hexagonal pore-array dimensions can be controlled without changing the physicochemical properties of the silica precursor solutions or the sizes of the template molecules.
