Easy and General Synthesis of Large-Sized Mesoporous Rare-Earth Oxide Thin Films by 'Micelle Assembly'.

Large-sized (ca. 40 nm) mesoporous Er2O3 thin films are synthesized by using a triblock copolymer poly- (styrene-b-2-vinyl pyridine-b-ethylene oxide) (PS-b-P2VP-b- PEO) as a pore directing agent. Each block makes different contributions and the molar ratio of PVP/Er3+ is crucial to guide the resultant mesoporous structure. An easy and general method is proposed and used to prepare a series of mesoporous rare-earth oxide (Sm2O3, Dy2 O3, Tb2 O3, Ho2O3, Yb2O3, and Lu2O3) thin films with potential uses in electronics and optical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]