EISA processing oxides

The number of publications concerning utilization of the EISA process for fabrication of different structured materials is counted in the hundreds, which is far beyond the possibilities of this chapter to review in depth. Rather, we intend to provide a brief introduction into EISA and its application to the fabrication of functional thin films for electronic applications (e.g., electro-chromic layers and solar cells), with a special focus on fabrication of crystalline mesoporous films of metal oxides. Attention will also be given to techniques used to evaluate the pore structure of the thin films. For the other aspects of the EISA process, for example its mechanism,4 strategies for preparation of crystalline porous metal oxides,5 mesoporous nanohybrid materials,6 periodic organic silica materials,7,8 or postgrafting functionalization of mesoporous framework,9 we kindly recommend the reader to refer to the referenced comprehensive reviews. 

This mechanism has been utilized in casting, spin-coating and dip-coating processes, and a variety of films differing in pore size and pore orientation has been synthesizedJ The principle has been investigated extensively for silica-based systems. Recently, it was shown that mesostructured transition metal oxide based systems can also be synthesized by using the EISA process. 

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