Towards flexible inorganic "mesomaterials": one-pot low temperature synthesis of mesostructured nanocrystalline titania

We hereby report a simple route for the low temperature synthesis of mesoporous nanocrystalline titania involving brief hydrothermal treatment of butanolic precursors and non-ionic tri-block-copolymer surfactant at 100 degrees C, followed by evaporation induced self assembly to make a crack-free flexible film. At no time in the film-forming process is a temperature of more than 120 degrees C reached, thereby permitting the use of substrates that are not stable to higher temperatures.