title: Rapid, Large-Area Synthesis of Hierarchical Nanoporous Silica Hybrid Films on Flexible Substrates.
abstract: We report a simple strategy for the creation of large-area nanoporous hybrid films of silica, carbon, and gold on polyethylene terephthalate via photothermal processing. This method enables the selective heating of light-absorbing thin films on low-temperature substrates using sub-millisecond light pulses generated by a xenon flash lamp. The film contains gold nanoparticles as the nanoheaters to convert light energy to heat, a sacrificial block copolymer surfactant to generate mesopores, and cross-linked polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane as the silica source to form the skeleton of the porous structure. Hierarchical porous structures are achieved in the films after photothermal treatment, with uniform mesopores (44-48 nm) on the surface and interconnected macropores (>50 nm) underneath resulting from a foaming effect during release of gaseous decomposition products. The loading of gold nanoparticles is up to 43 wt % in the product, with less than 2 wt % organic residue. This rapid and large-area process for the synthetis of porous structures is compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing for the fabrication of flexible devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst , 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Dong-Po
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst , 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Aditi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naik
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst , 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Shengkai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst , 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ribbe
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst , 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Watkins