Mesostructure of anatase thin films prepared by mesophase templating

A previous paper described the low-temperature synthesis of mesoporous nanocrystalline anatase thin layers obtained by mesophase templating (Chem. Mater. 2003, 15, 2463). This work deals with the structural characterization of these anatase thin layers and with the extension of the synthesis method to films with a different mesostructure. Thus, two triblock copolymers are used as structuring agents and the effect of the volume fraction of surfactant in the dried layers is also considered. The determination of the mesostructures is mainly based on 2D X-ray diffraction experiments, completed with observations by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements are performed to investigate the porous texture of the thin layers.