Controlled Growth of Mesostructured Crystalline Iron Oxide Nanowires and Fe-Filled Carbon Nanotube Arrays Templated by Mesoporous Silica SBA-16 Film

Abstract

The three-dimensional (3D) accessible pore structures (Imm space groups) of continuous mesoporous silica SBA-16 thin films have been prepared by a dip-coating technique in nonaqueous media under acidic conditions on indium-tin oxide glass (ITO). The films are oriented with the (111) crystal plane perpendicular to the surface of the film. On one hand, deposition of iron metal into the mesopores of SBA-16 films was achieved by using an electrochemical method. The Fe2O3 nanowire arrays were synthesized. The crystalline structures of porous Fe2O3 nanowires and nanorods were studied via TEM, SEM, and XRD. On the other hand, a small amount of Fe was deposited into the pores of the SBA-16 thin film as a catalyst, and carbon nanotube arrays formed inside the pores of SBA-16 film were fabricated by catalytic decomposition of acetylene at 700 degrees C. The second-order template synthesis method for preparing the ordered array of carbon nanotubes filled with Fe has been used. The carbon nanotubes are very uniform in diameter and length and are aligned vertically with respect to the SBA-16 film.

Filling of carbon nanotubes for bio‐applications

“…The SAED pattern (Fig. 3c) indicates that iron inside the CNT exists in a single crystal, similar to what was reported before [11][12][13][14][15]. The SAED pattern corresponds to the (111) plane of α-Fe.…”

Ordered Mesoporous Silicate Structures as Potential Templates for Nanowire Growth

“…One possible solution to this challenge is to combine lithography with bottom-up methods. Mesoporous thin films (MTFs) may form an ideal template for the development of nanowires generated from supercritical fluid, [4] electrodeposition, [5] and phase-infiltration methods among others. [6] MTFs are also being researched as a potential solution to the 'interconnect problem'.…”

Sol Gel-Derived SBA-16 Mesoporous Material

“…High-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been synthesized on SBA-16 type mesoporous silica thin film which provides an additional volumetric capacity for holding catalytic metals inside it [40–42]. In addition, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with Fe in SBA-16 as template [43].…”