Shin Kitamura

Remarkable birefringence in a TiO2-SiO2 composite film with an aligned mesoporous structure

Mesoporous titania-silica composite films with highly aligned cylindrical pores are prepared by the sol-gel method using a substrate with structural anisotropy. The strong alignment effect of a rubbing-treated polyimide film on a substrate provides a narrow alignment distribution in the plane of the film regardless of the fast condensation rate of titania precursors. The collapse of the mesostructure upon the surfactant removal is effectively suppressed by the reinforcement of the pore walls with silica by exposing the as-deposited film to a vapor of a silicon alkoxide. The existence of a silica layer on the titania pore wall is proved from the distributions of Ti and Si estimated by the elemental analysis in high resolution electron microscopy. The obtained mesoporous titania-silica composite film exhibits a remarkable birefringence reflecting the highly anisotropic mesoporous structure and the high refractive index of titania that forms the pore wall. The Δn value estimated from the optical retardation and the film thickness is larger than 0.06, which cannot be achieved with the conventional mesoporous silica films with uniaxially aligned mesoporous structure even though the alignment of the pores in the films is perfect. These inorganic films with mesoscopic structural anisotropy will find many applications in the field of optics as phase plates with high thermal/chemical/mechanical stabilities.

Mesoporous TiO2 films with regularly aligned slit-like nanovoids

Novel mesoporous TiO2 films with regularly aligned slit-like nanovoids are prepared through structural transformation from a mesostructured TiO2 film with honeycomb-packed aligned cylindrical micelles by pyrolytic removal of the micelle template. The transformation takes place through interconnection of the TiO2 walls of the framework in the thickness direction by a heat-induced shrinkage and eventual collapse of the original channel structure. For the formation of this new structure, the preparation of a mesostructured titania film with cylindrical micelles aligned entirely in the plane of the film over the whole thickness is indispensable. This is achieved by coating a substrate, on which a rubbing-treated polyimide layer is formed, with a precursor solution containing two nonionic surfactants, Brij56 and P123. In the mixed surfactant system, Brij56 works as an alignment-controlling agent through selective and directional adsorption on the anisotropic polymer surface. On the other hand, P123 suppresses the formation of a surface layer without controlled in-plane alignment, which has been inevitable when Brij56 is used alone. This is caused by the retarded condensation of the TiO2 precursors due to increased coordination of oxyethylene moieties on titanium. P123 also increases the wall thickness of the framework, which also contributes to the formation of this mesoporous TiO2 film with oriented regular slit-like voids. The structural transformation takes place in a relatively low temperature range lower than 300 °C, which shows that the driving force is not crystallization. The mesoporous TiO2 films with aligned slit-like voids show optical anisotropy, birefringence, with a Δn value of ∼0.023 reflecting the structural anisotropy of the film. Calcination of the aligned mesostructured TiO2 film at 450 °C induces crystallization of TiO2, which deteriorates the meso-scale structural regularity by interconnection of the TiO2 walls. However, the partial retention of the regular structure is confirmed in the vicinity of the surface, which allows the retention of the optical anisotropy. The novel mesoporous TiO2 films in this paper have potential for optical applications by combining their unique anisotropic mesostructure, which enhances the accessibility to the inner surface, with various properties of TiO2 such as high refractive index and photocatalytic activity.

Strict In-Plane Alignment Control of Block-Copolymer-Templated Mesostructured Silica Films Using an Alignment-Controlling Agent

An alkoxysilane with an alkyl chain is introduced as an alignment-controlling agent of a block-copolymer-templated mesostructured silica film. Use of the alkylalkoxysilane achieves the alignment of the mesochannels of a triblock-copolymer-templated film by an intermolecular interaction with a rubbing-treated polyimide film. Co-use of an alkoxysilane with a hydroxymethyl group as a hydrophobicity reducing agent improves the alignment close to that of the film prepared using an alkyl surfactant. This concept widens the range of the structural period of aligned mesoporous films and thus widens the useful range of the anisotropic optical properties.

Films Consisting of Innumerable Tapered Nanopillars of Mesoporous Silica for Universal Antireflection Coatings

Films with a fine structure consisting of innumerable nanopillars of mesoporous silica (MPS) are formed by a reactive ion etching process with a fluorine-containing gas. Each nanopillar has a tapered shape with a uniform height, which effectively suppresses reflection by the formation of an ideal graded refractive index structure. The nanopillars are spontaneously formed under low-pressure conditions, wherein locally deposited Al-F compounds, originating from an alumina plate in the etching chamber, work as a fine etching mask. The high etching rate of the MPS film allows a very high aspect ratio of the nanopillars. The refractive index of the MPS nanopillars can be universally tuned by a controlled incorporation of TiO2 into the mesopores, which results in effective reduction of reflectance on a given substrate. The outstanding antireflection performance is experimentally demonstrated for glass substrates with a wide refractive index range.