Structural and chemical characterization of aligned crystalline nanoporous MgO films grown via reactive ballistic deposition

Highly porous (similar to 90%), high-surface area (similar to1000 m(2)/g), thermally stable (1200 K) crystalline Films of NIgO are synthesized using a novel reactive ballistic deposition technique. The film consists of a tilted array of porous nanoscale crystalline filaments. Surprisingly, the individual filaments exhibit a high degree of crystallographic order with respect to each other. These films have chemical binding sites analogous to those on MgO(100). However, the fraction of chemically active, high energy binding sites is greatly enhanced on the nanoporous film. This unique collection of properties makes these materials attractive candidates for chemical applications such as sensors and heterogeneous catalysts.