Vapor-Phase Synthesis of Mesostructured Silica Nanofibers Inside Porous Alumina Membranes

A novel method to fabricate mesostructured silica nanofibers (MSNF) in an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template using vapor-deposition hydrolysis was reported. The AAO was placed in a closed vessel, and vapor-deposition hydrolysis was performed at 100°C for 2 Hr, while MSNF was obtained by dissolving AAO membrane in hydrochloride aqueous solution. It is reported that the mesostructure of MSNF templated by non-ionic surfactant in AAO has parallel and circular alignments against the fiber axis. The mesostructural transformation of MSNF is found to be a function of alkyl chain spacer, while MSNF-10 has same micellar pore structure at the edge of the NF. The mesostructure of MSNF is not dependent on the concentration variation beyond CMS, and mesostructure templated by cationic surfactant could not be tuned by varying the concentration of surfactant.