Mesoporous silica nanowires synthesized by electrodeposition in AAO

Mesoporous silica nanowires were prepared by electrodeposition of a prehydrolysed silica sol with surfactant (CAB) onto the cylindrical pores of AAO template, followed by calcinations to remove the surfactant and removing aluminum oxide membranes with phosphoric acid. The samples show ordered hexagonal mesostructure, which were demonstrated by small angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and the morphologies of mesostructured silica were demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of the SEM indicate that the mesoporous silica nanowires were highly infiltrated into the porous alumina and the sample has a narrow distribution in the range of 2.5-3.8 nm from the BET results. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.