Structural control of surfactant-templated mesoporous silica formed inside columnar alumina pores

A hybrid mesoporous membrane is developed by forming surfactant-templated mesoporous silica inside columnar alumina pores of an alumina membrane. Predominant formation of onedimensional silica nanochannels (channel diameter = 8 nm) is achieved by controlling the aging time and temperature for preparation of the precursor solution using Pluronic P123 as a template surfactant.