Synthesis and characterization of highly ordered mesoporous thin films with –COOH terminated pore surfaces

Highly ordered mesoporous inorganic–organic hybrid thin films with covalently bonded carboxylic acid (–COOH) terminal groups on the pore surfaces were synthesized by evaporation induced self-assembly of tetraethoxysilane, organosilanes, and a nonionic surfactant followed by acid hydrolysis and characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, surface acoustic wave (SAW) based N2 sorption, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques.