Self-Assembling Of Ordered Mesoporous Titania Nanostructures

Abstract Ordered self-assembly of nanocrystals is scientifically interesting due to not only the unique properties of the nanocrystals, but also the collective properties of the assembly. Compared to lithography method, self-assembly is limited by a lack of control over the sizes of the ordered arrays, resulting in difficulties in characterizing their physical and chemical properties. New techniques are needed to manipulate the self-assembling process and the nanostructures formed. In this work, polystyrene (PS) spheres were used as the template to form large bulk ordered anatase nanostructure with cobalt doping. The ordered PS template was infiltrated with absolute alcohol solution of titanium butoxide. After the precursor was dried, it was treated at 160°C for 5 hours and then at 450°C for another 5 hours. To dope cobalt into the structure, the porous titania host was immersed in a heptane solution with cobalt carbonyl. After drying in vacuum at room temperature, it was treated at 160°C.