Mesoporous tertiary oxides via a novel amphiphilic approach

Natasha Bennett, Annela M. Seddon, James E. Hallett, Winfried Kockelmann, Valeska P. Ting, Sajanikumari Sadasivan, Robert P. Tooze, Simon R. Hall

OAI: oai:purehost.bath.ac.uk:openaire_cris_publications/ee195a56-898a-483b-96b4-fbcbfaa46064 • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4930808

We report a facile biomimetic sol-gel synthesis using the sponge phase formed by the lipid monoolein as a structure-directing template, resulting in high phase purity, mesoporous dysprosium- and gadolinium titanates. The stability of monoolein in a 1,4-butanediol and water mixture complements the use of a simple sol-gel metal oxide synthesis route. By judicious control of the lipid/solvent concentration, the sponge phase of monoolein can be directly realised in the pyrochlore material, leading to a porous metal oxide network with an average pore diameter of 10 nm.