Synthesis and characterization of lamellar nanostructured yttrium films using lyotropic liquid crystalline templates

The lamellar nanostructured yttrium films on alpha-Al2O3 substrates were successfully synthesized by electroless deposition using the lyotropic liquid crystalline templating strategy. The reaction of hydrazine hydrate and Y3+ dissolved within the aqueous domains of the lyotropic liquid crystalline phase produced the nanostructured yttrium films. The low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicated that the as-resulted films possessed lamellar regular array of nanochannels with periodicity of 6 nm. With well-defined nanochannels and higher surface areas, the nanostructured films may find applications in the field of electronic materials.