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Mechanical properties of ordered mesoporous oxides thin films

  • Invited Review: Characterization methods of sol-gel and hybrid materials
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Abstract

Ordered mesoporous oxides obtained by combining sol-gel and self-assembly exhibit high surface area, controlled porosity, monodisperse pores in the mesoscale and amorphous or crystalline inorganic framework. In the particular form of thin films, they have been widely studied for a diversity of applications. In this context, the mechanical stability of devices based on mesoporous thin films (MTF) is one of the critical factors to consider for assuring robustness and reliability. Measuring and understanding the mechanical and tribological behavior of these designed materials are therefore issues of crucial importance when large-scale applications are pursued, such as photovoltaic devices, catalysis, sensors, microfluidic systems, biocompatible films and microelectronics. In this review, two aspects are discussed and critically evaluated: the mechanical properties of ordered MTF and the experimental techniques used to measure them. The relationship between hardness and elastic modulus with structural features (porosity, pore ordering, crystalline phase, among others) are analyzed for several mesoporous systems. Tribological and fractomechanical features are also assessed. Besides, the experimental techniques dedicated to measure the mechanical properties of porous thin film, including surface acoustic waves, Brillouin light scattering, ellipsometric porosimetry, X-Rays and neutron-based techniques and nanoindentation are described in detail, discussing the possibilities and limitations of these techniques applied to a diversity of systems.

In this review, the mechanical properties of ordered mesoporous thin films and the experimental techniques used to measure them are presented and discussed. The relationship between hardness (H) and elastic modulus (E) with structural features as the porosity (P), among others, are analyzed for several mesoporous systems.

Highlights

  • Several techniques can be used to evaluate the mechanical behavior of mesoporous thin films.

  • Ordered mesoporous films are excellent systems to correlate structure and mechanical properties.

  • For mesoporous films, elastic modulus and hardness values decrease as porosity increases.

  • For titania films, the crystalline phase and the porosity determine their mechanical strength.

  • Mechanical properties of hybrid films can be designed by changing the composition and porosity.

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Acknowledgements

JIR acknowledges CONICET for a doctoral scholarship. M. C. Marchi (CMA-IFIBA-UBA) is acknowledged for SEM measurements. S. Ziegler and P. Agee (Agilent Technologies) are acknowledged for performing nanoindentation-CSM measurements. We thank P. C. Angelomé for reading this manuscript. MCF and GJAASI are CONICET researchers.

Funding

This work was supported by ANPCyT (PICT 2015-0351, PICT 2017-1133, PICT 2017-4651, PICT 2018-04236).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Diego F. Lionello, Juan Ignacio Ramallo

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gerencia Química & INN, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, CONICET, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Diego F. Lionello, Juan Ignacio Ramallo & María Cecilia Fuertes

  2. Instituto Sabato, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica-Universidad Nacional de San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Diego F. Lionello & Juan Ignacio Ramallo

  3. Instituto de Nanosistemas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín-CONICET, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Galo J. A. A. Soler-Illia

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  1. Diego F. Lionello
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Lionello, D.F., Ramallo, J.I., Soler-Illia, G.J.A.A. et al. Mechanical properties of ordered mesoporous oxides thin films. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 101, 114–139 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-021-05626-7

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