Fluorinated surfactant templating of ordered nanoporous silica

We will describe the first synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica using a fluorinated surfactant template. Nitrogen adsorption, x-ray diffraction and TEM results will be presented that show that at room temperature, we form particles with well-ordered 2D hexagonal pores using a cationic surfactant with a partially fluorinated octyl (C8) tail. The pore diameter determined by the inflection in the nitrogen adsorption isotherm is on the order of 2.6 nm and the pore size distribution is very narrow. Consistent diameters are found with a modified Kelvin equation approach and with nonlocal density functional theory. The same pore size and long-range order are found for a range of surfactant to silica ratios.