Current Opinion in Colloid and Interface Science 8 (2003) 109–126 1359-0294/03/$ - see front matter  2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S1359-0294Ž03.00002-5 Block copolymer-templated mesoporous oxides Galo J. de A.A. Soler-Illia *, Eduardo L. Crepaldi , David Grosso , Clement Sanchez * a,b, a,c a a, ´ Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matiere Condensee, CNRS UMR 7574, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, a ` ´ ´ France Unidad de Actividad Quımica, Comision Nacional de Energıa Atomica, Centro Atomico Constituyentes, Av. Gral. Paz 1499 (1650), b ´ ´ ´ ´ ´ San Martin, Pcia. de Buenos Aires, Argentina Rhodia Brasil Ltda. CPP, Fısico-Quımica, Fazenda Sao Francisco syno, C.P. 07 13140-000 Paulinia, SP, Brazil c ´ ´ ˜ Abstract Block copolymers (BC) are indeed suitable and versatile templates for the creation of mesostructured and mesoporous materials. Great advances have been achieved in the last 3 years. Nowadays, it is possible to obtain highly controlled large-pore and highly stable mesostructured and mesoporous materials (silica, non-silica oxides, carbons,«) shaped as powders, films, monoliths or aerosols. This paper reviews mainly the synthesis of BC-templated mesostructured oxides, stressing in the physical, chemical and processing parameters, which have to be thoroughly controlled to reproducibly obtain mesoporous materials.  2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Polymer; Mesoporous materials; Surfactant; Block copolymer; SBA-15 1. Mesotextured and mesoporous materials The ‘physical chemistry of organized matter’ relies on the successful combination of sol–gel chemistry and self-assembly procedures, to uniquely control the texture of materials at the nanometer scale w1,2 x. The growth ● of soft chemistry derived inorganic or hybrid networks templated by organized surfactant assemblies (structure directing agents) allowed to construct a new kind of materials organized in the mesoscopic scale (2–50 nm): the best example is the ever growing family of mesos- tructured hybrids and derived mesoporous inorganic materials. Since the pioneering work of the Mobil scientists w3 x, a permanent effort is made to develop mesotex- ●● tured inorganic or hybrid phases, which are potential candidates for a variety of applications, in the fields of catalysis, optics, photonics, sensors, separation, drug Abbreviations: BC, block copolymer; EISA, evaporation-induced self assembly; TLCT, true liquid crystal templating; HI, hybrid interface; PEO, poly(ethylene oxide); PPO, poly(propylene oxide); PI, polyisoprene; PS, polystyrene; PAA, poly(acrylic acid); P123, pluronics P123 (PEO) (PPO) (PEO) ; F127, pluronics F127 20 70 20 (PEO) (PPO) (PEO) ; HLB, hydrophilicylipophilic balance 106 70 106 *Corresponding authors. Tel.: q33-1-44-27-55-45; fax: q33-1-44- 27-47-69. E-mail addresses: gsoler@cnea.gov.ar (G.J.d.A. Soler-Illia), clems@ccr.jussieu.fr (C. Sanchez). delivery, sorption, acoustic or electrical insulation« w4 ,5x. The choice of the organic template to spatially ● control the mineralization process in the mesoscale, is a key issue in the synthesis of textured or porous materials. In the case of mesoporous oxides, the templating relies on supramolecular arrays: micellar systems formed by surfactants or block copolymers (BC) w6 x. BC w7 x ●● ●● are indeed interesting as supramolecular templates because they are capable to impart larger pores and thicker walls, apart from being industrially available, hazard-free and easy to remove from the mineral frame- work (by thermal treatment or solvent extraction). Since the first successful syntheses of these exciting meso- organized materials, the number of publications is stead- ily increasing w8 x. However, the understanding of their ● synthesis procedures is limited. In the last 3 years, the main advances in the texturing of inorganic or hybrid materials by BC can be summa- rized as follows: a. The fine structure of these composite materials (i.e. the nature of the inorganic walls, the organic domains, and the hybrid interface) is beginning to be unveiled w8 ,9 ,10 x, helping to understand the role of syn- ● ●● ●● thesis and processing variables. b. The porosity and pore structure of these materials are beginning to be understood, in correlation with the synthesis variables w8 ,11 x. This is fundamental for ● ●●