Bicontinuous Ceramics with High Surface Area from Block Copolymer Templates

Mesoporous polymers with gyroid nanochannels can be fabricated from the self-assembly of degradable block copolymer, polystyrene-b-poly(L-lactide) (PS-PLLA), followed by hydrolysis of PLLA block. Well-defined polymer/ceramic nanohybrid materials with inorganic gyroid nanostructures in a PS matrix can be obtained by using the mesoporous PS as a template for sol-gel reaction. Titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) is used as a precursor to give a model system for the fabrication of metal oxide nanostructures from reactive transition metal alkoxides. By controlling the rates of capillary-driven pore filling and sol-gel reaction, the templated synthesis can be well-developed. Also, by taking advantage of calcination, bicontinuous TiO2 with controlled crystalline phase (i.e., anatase phase) can be fabricated after removal of the PS template and crystallization of TiO2 by calcination leading to high photocatalytic efficiency. This new approach provides an easy way to fabricate high-surface-area and high-porosity ceramics with self-supporting structure and controlled crystalline phase for practical applications. As a result, a platform technology to fabricate precisely controlled polymer/ceramic nanohybrids and mesoporous ceramic materials can be established.