Tailoring porous silica films through supercritical carbon dioxide processing of fluorinated surfactant templates

Kaustav Ghosh, Sandhya M. Vyas, Hans Joachim Lehmler, Stephen E. Rankin, Barbara L. Knutson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

The tailoring of porous silica thin films synthesized using perfluoroalkylpyridinium chloride surfactants as templating agents is achieved as a function of carbon dioxide processing conditions and surfactant tail length and branching. Well-ordered films with 2D hexagonal close-packed pore structure are obtained from sol-gel synthesis using the following cationic fluorinated surfactants as templates: 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluoro-octyl) pyridinium chloride (HFOPC), 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,8,8,8-dodecafluoro-7- trifluoromethyl -octyl)pyridinium chloride (HFDoMePC), and 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7, 7,8,8,9,9,10,10,10-heptadecafluoro-decyl)pyridinium chloride (HFDePC). Processing the sol-gel film with CO2 (69-172 bar, 25 and 45°C) immediately after coating results in significant increases in pore diameter relative to the unprocessed thin films (increasing from 20% to 80% depending on surfactant template and processing conditions). Pore expansion increases with CO2 processing pressure, surfactant tail length, and surfactant branching. The varying degree of CO2 induced expansion is attributed to the solvation of the "CO2-philic" fluorinated tail and is interpreted from interfacial behavior of HFOPC, HFDoMePC, and HFDePC at the CO2-water interface.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)363-370
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume111
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 18 2007

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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