Journal article

Publication year: 2004

Pages: 787-792

Journal: Nature Materials

Volume number: 3

Issue number: 11

ISSN: 1476-1122

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1206

Publisher: Nature Research

Abstract: 
Innovative strategies to produce well-defined nanoparticles and other nanostructures such as nanofibres, quantum wells and mesoporous materials have revitalized materials science(1,2) for the potential benefit to society. Here, we report a controlled process, involving soft-chemistry-based deposition, template-assisted mesostructured growth, and tuned annealing conditions that allows the preparation of ordered mesoporous crystalline networks and mesostructured nano-island single layers, composed of multicationic metal oxides having perovskite, tetragonal or ilmenite structures. This strategy to obtain meso-organized multi-metal-oxide nanocrystalline films (M3NF) bridges the gap between conventional mesoporous materials and the remarkable properties of crystalline ternary or quaternary metallic oxides. Nanocrystalline mesoporous films with controlled wall thickness (10-20 nm) of dielectric SrTiO3, photoactive MgTa2O6 or ferromagnetic semi-conducting CoxTi1-xO2-x were prepared by evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) using a specially designed non-ionic block-copolymer template. A tuned thermal treatment of the mesoporous films permits the transfer of the wall structure into nanocrystallites, with all tectonic units being tightly incorporated into mechanically stable ordered tri- or bidimensional nanocrystalline networks. This methodology should allow multifunctionalization, miniaturization and integration during development of devices such as smart sensors and actuators, better-performing photocatalysts, and fast electrochromic devices. On the other hand, organized arrays of dispersed ferromagnetic or ferroelectric nanoparticles are promising materials for spintronics and for cheap, non-volatile 'flash' memories.

Harvard Citation style: Grosso, D., Boissiere, C., Smarsly, B., Brezesinski, T., Pinna, N., Albouy, P., et al. (2004) Periodically ordered nanoscale islands and mesoporous films composed of nanocrystalline multimetallic oxides, Nature Materials, 3(11), pp. 787-792. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1206

APA Citation style: Grosso, D., Boissiere, C., Smarsly, B., Brezesinski, T., Pinna, N., Albouy, P., Amenitsch, H., Antonietti, M., & Sanchez, C. (2004). Periodically ordered nanoscale islands and mesoporous films composed of nanocrystalline multimetallic oxides. Nature Materials. 3(11), 787-792. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1206