Preparation and characterizations of helical mesoporous silica nanorods using CTAB and alcohols

Helical mesoporous silica nanorods were prepared using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and achiral alcohols as the co-structure-directing agents. They were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen sorptions, and small angle X-ray diffraction. The length of the silica nanorods increases with increasing the length of the alcohols. When n-heptanol and n-octanol were used, helical mesoporous silica nanorods with lamellar mesopores on the surfaces were obtained.