Templated growth of ordered mesoporous silica and of ordered macroporous films of oxides and nitrides

Andrew's research concentrates on the synthesis and characterisation of inorganic materials. He has a long-standing interest in metal nitrides, specifically the development of sol-gel chemistry to produce them in new forms...  A current strong interest is in making metal nitrides in porous or other morphologies that may make them suitable for use as electrodes in various applications and the group is now heavily involved in developing the electrochemistry as well as the new materials. We are also involved in a range of collaborative projects in the fields of nanostructured materials, new materials synthesis using vapour deposition and related techniques, and high pressure synthesis and investigation of phase behaviour." (http://www.southampton.ac.uk/chemistry/about/staff/uccaalh.page#research)

 

Abstract: Ordered pore structures in thin films can deliver useful optical properties, selective access of chemical species to a surface or hosts for the growth of ordered arrays of other materials. Surfactant templating typically produces disordered films with a preference for pore alignment parallel to the substrate. Under the Supercritical Fluids Electrodeposition project we have investigated preparation of mesoporous silica films with ~3 nm pores aligned perpendicular to the growth surface. We have also developed routes to metal nitride inverse opals using non-oxide sol-gel chemistry with cross-linked polymer templates, and recently adapted those methods for the production of ternary titanate inverse opal films.

 

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