Preparation and characterization of mesoporous Y2O3 and Nd2O3 films

With poly (ethylene-co-butylene)-block-poly (ethylene oxide) block copolymer (PHB-PEO) as the template, mesostructured Y2O3 and Nd2O3 thin films were successfully synthesized through the well-documented evaporation-induced self-assembly approach. The obtained samples calcined at different temperatures were characterized in detail by using small-and wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that our presented Y2O3 and Nd2O3 thin films possessed an lm3m body-centered-cubic (BCC) array of distorted spherical pores with an average pore diameter of about 11.5 and 12.5 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the partial crystalline pore walls can stabilize at 450°C. The investigation also indicated that a rapid self-assembly process is necessary to generate the mesoporous Y2O3 and Nd2O3 thin films. It can be achieved by the utilization of PHB-PEO template and the fast dip-coating process of evaporation-induced self-assembly.