Moehl Gilles E, Nasir Tauqir, Han Yisong, Noori Yasir J, Huang Ruomeng, Beanland Richard, Bartlett Philip N, Hector Andrew L
School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
Department of Physics, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, UK.
Nanoscale. 2022 Apr 7;14(14):5404-5411. doi: 10.1039/d1nr08253a.
Silica thin films with vertical nanopores are useful to control access to electrode surfaces and may act as templates for growth of nanomaterials. The most effective method to produce these films, electrochemically assisted surfactant assembly, also produces aggregates of silica particles. This paper shows that growth with an AC signal superimposed onto the potential avoids the aggregates and only very small numbers of single particles are found. This finding is linked to better control of the diffusion field of hydroxide ions that are responsible for particle growth. The resultant films are smooth, with very well-ordered hexagonal pore structures.
具有垂直纳米孔的二氧化硅薄膜有助于控制对电极表面的访问，并且可以作为纳米材料生长的模板。制备这些薄膜最有效的方法，即电化学辅助表面活性剂组装，也会产生二氧化硅颗粒的聚集体。本文表明，在电位上叠加交流信号进行生长可避免聚集体的产生，并且仅发现极少量的单个颗粒。这一发现与更好地控制负责颗粒生长的氢氧根离子的扩散场有关。所得薄膜光滑，具有非常有序的六边形孔结构。
