Molecular sieving property of silica overlayer on tin oxide generated by organic template

In order to create a molecular recognition property, tin oxide surface was modified by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method of silicon alkoxide using pre-adsorbed benzaldehyde as a template. The adsorption of aldehydes with different molecular sizes on silica-deposited tin oxide was studied at various temperatures. The molecular sieving property thus created was controlled by a steric hindrance between the silica overlayer and the adsorbates. The silica overlayer prepared by the CVD using α-naphthaldehyde showed a different adsorption property from the sample prepared using benzaldehyde. Thus, the molecular sieving property of silica overlayer could be adjusted by the selection of the template molecule.