Tunable Mesoporous Phenolic-Silica Composites Templated by Poly(ethylene oxide-b-ε-caprolactone) Block Copolymer

In this study, we prepared mesoporous composite materials templated by poly(ethylene oxide-b-epsilon-caprolactone) (PEO-b-PCL) diblock copolymers with the matrix of TEOS and phenolic resin. Clearly, the TEOS is inorganic source and the phenolic resin is organic source, hydrogen-bond donor, and expander. The phenolic resin exists in a matrix of the silica wall or hole of silica matrix. Through the DSC thermograms, the morphology of composite nanostructure can be forecasted by supercooling temperature. Small-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and N-2 sorption measurements indicates that the mesoporous composites displayed the morphology of short cylindrical mesostructure. The morphology of mesoporous composite materials is greatly affected by the phenolic resins that are the large pore size (ca. 30 similar to 40 nm) short cylinder structure, indicates its possibility of potential application separation, low-refractive index and low-dielectric materials.