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Design and synthesis of self-ordered mesoporous nanocomposite through controlled in-situ crystallization

Nature Materials volume 3, pages 65–72 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Mesoporous materials are of technological interest because of their applications ranging from catalysts, molecular sieves, separation technology and gas sensors, to batteries and electronics1,2,3,4. Here we demonstrate a synthetic methodology that allows us to create an ordered mesoporous nanocomposite with a crystalline oxide framework. We design a 'nanocrystal–glass' configuration to build a nanoarchitecture by means of surfactant-templated self-assembly followed by the controlled in-situ crystallization of materials. Functional nanocrystals are used as the building blocks of ordered mesopores, and the glass phase can act both as the 'glue' between nanocrystals and as a functionalized component in the composites. Specifically, we demonstrate this methodology for ordered mesoporous nanocomposites consisting of electrochemically active nanocrystals and semiconductive glass in the TiO2–P2O5–MxOy systems (where M is a metal ion). This approach could be applied to many other multicomponent oxides to fabricate mesoporous nanocomposites for numerous uses.

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Figure 1: Target structure of designed mesoporous nanocomposite.
Figure 2: Powder X-ray diffraction patterns.
Figure 3: BET measurements.
Figure 4: Representative TEM images.
Figure 5: Powder X-ray diffraction patterns and TEM images.

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Acknowledgements

D.L. acknowledges the financial support of the Japanese Society of the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship for work carried out at the Energy Electronics Institute, AIST. H.Z. thanks M. Ichihara for help in TEM observations, and acknowledges partial research funding from JSPS, Japan Science and Technology Agency, AIST.

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  1. Energy Electronics Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Umezono, 1-1-1, Tsukuba, 305-8568, Japan

    Donglin Li, Haoshen Zhou & Itaru Honma

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  1. Donglin Li
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  2. Haoshen Zhou
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  3. Itaru Honma
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Correspondence to Haoshen Zhou.

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Li, D., Zhou, H. & Honma, I. Design and synthesis of self-ordered mesoporous nanocomposite through controlled in-situ crystallization. Nature Mater 3, 65–72 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1043

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