Versatile Mesoporous Microblocks Prepared by Pattern-Induced Cracking of Colloidal Films.

Abstract

Mesoporous microparticles have the potential to be used in various fields, such as energy generation, sensing and the environmental field. Recently, the process of making homogeneous microparticles in an economical and environmentally friendly way has gained much attention. Herein, w e produce rectangular mesoporous microblocks of various designs by manipulating the fragmentation of colloidal films consisting of micropyramids while controlling the notch angles of pyramidal edges. During calcination of the colloidal films, cracks are generated in the valleys of micropyramids acting as notches, and the angle of notches can be controlled by the prepattern underneath the micropyramids. By changing the location of notches with sharp angles, w e control the shape of microblocks with excellent uniformity. After detaching the microblocks from substrates, mesoporous microparticles of various sizes with multiple functions are easily produced. W e demonstrate anticounterfeiting functions by encoding the rotation angles of rectangular microblocks of various sizes. In addition, the mesoporous microparticles can be utilized for separating desired chemicals mixed with chemicals of different charges. The method of fabricating size-tunable functionalized mesoporous microblocks can be a platform technology to prepare special films and catalysts and for environmental applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.