Electrochemical deposition of mesoporous crystalline oxide semiconductor films from lyotropic liquid crystalline phases

Direct templating with lyotropic liquid crystalline phases of nonionic surfactants has now been extended to fabricate mesoporous crystalline oxide semiconductors. ZnO and Cu2O films have been prepared on ITO-covered glass substrates by electrochemical deposition from lyotropic liquid crystalline phases with polyoxyethylene surfactant. The templates and the films are characterized by polarized-light optical microscopy (POM), low-angle and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-vis light absorption spectroscopy.