Optical fiber silica mechanical properties

In addition to creating semiconductor or metal replicas of the channels of mesoporous materials, which are expected to display electron and hole quantum confinement effects, forming fibers of polymers could lead to materials with novel electrical, magnetic, optical or mechanical properties. To this end, oxidative polymerization of aniline within the channels of mesoporous silica has been reported [91]. Convincing spectroscopic evidence for intrachannel polymerization of aniline to poly(aniline) was provided. Extracted polymer had a molecular weight considerably smaller than that of the bulk material under similar conditions indicative of a diffusion constraint imposed upon the polymerization and growth of monomer inside the channel space of mesoporous silica. 

---