Thin silica film with a network structure as prepared by surface sol-gel transcription on the poly(styrene-b-4-vinylpyridine) polymer film

Sol-gel polycondensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was carried out on the cast film of poly(styrene-b-4-vinylpyridine) under basic (benzylamine), acidic (AcOH), and neutral (no catalyst) conditions. It was found that only under the acidic and neutral conditions, the phase-separated periodic structure of the copolymer is finely transcribed into the silica. This is a new, convenient method to create the thin, mosaic film from inorganic materials.