Photo-definable self-assembled materials

1. A method comprising:

forming a mesoporous material including:

coating a sol on a substrate to form a film, said sol comprising: at least one photoactivator generator, at least one surfactant, at least one templating molecule and at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed; and

exposing said film to light to define the mesoporous material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said light is UV radiation.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sol further comprises a solvent.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein said solvent comprises ethyl alcohol.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photoacid.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photobase.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photoinitiator.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photocleavable compound.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photolabile compound.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photodecomposable compound.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photopolymerizable compound.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator comprises at least one photoamphiphile.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said photoactivator generator comprises a diaryliodonium compound.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator is selected from the group consisting of photoacids, photobases, photoinitiators, photocleavable compounds, photolabile compounds, photodecomposable compounds, photopolymerizable compounds, photoamphiphiles and combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sol further comprises an acid for adjusting the pH of said sol.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises silica.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises at least one organo-metal alkoxide.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises silicon.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises aluminum.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises boron.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises lead.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises tin.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises titanium.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises zinc.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises zirconium.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises cerium.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises lanthanum.

28. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises yttrium.

29. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one material capable of being sol-gel processed comprises neodymium.

30. The method of claim 1 , wherein said templating molecule comprises a hydrogen-bonding molecule.

31. The method of claim 1 , wherein said templating molecule comprises an ionic molecule.

32. The method of claim 1 , wherein said templating molecule comprises a non-ionic molecule.

33. The method of claim 1 , wherein said templating molecule comprises an amphiphilic molecule.

34. The method of claim 1 , wherein said templating molecule comprises CH 3 (CH 2 ) 15 N + (CH 3 ) 3 Br − .

35. The method of claim 1 , wherein said templating molecule comprises CH 3 (CH 2 ) 15 (OCH 2 CH 2 ) 10 OH.

36. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least two regions of said mesostructured material have different physical and chemical properties.

37. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different refractive indexes in comparison to each other.

38. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different dielectric constants in comparison to each other.

39. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different mesostructures in comparison to each other.

40. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different pore volumes in comparison to each other.

41. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different pore sizes in comparison to each other.

42. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different thicknesses in comparison to each other.

43. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different surface areas in comparison to each other.

44. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different unit cell dimensions as detected by X-ray diffraction in comparison to each other.

45. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different etching behaviors in comparison to each other.

46. The method of claim 36 , wherein said at least two regions have different wetting behaviors in comparison to each other.

47. The method of claim 46 , further comprising selectively depositing at least one hydrophobic precursor on said at least two regions.

48. The method of claim 47 , wherein said hydrophobic precursor is an organic precursor.

49. The method of claim 47 , wherein said hydrophobic precursor is an inorganic precursor.

50. The method of claim 47 , wherein said hydrophobic precursor is a biological precursor.

51. The method of claim 47 , wherein said hydrophobic precursor is a metallic precursor.

52. The method of claim 46 , further comprising selectively depositing at least one hydrophilic precursor on said at least two regions.

53. The method of claim 52 , wherein said hydrophilic precursor is an organic precursor.

54. The method of claim 52 , wherein said hydrophilic precursor is an inorganic precursor.

55. The method of claim 52 , wherein said hydrophilic precursor is a biological precursor.

56. The method of claim 52 , wherein said hydrophilic precursor is a metallic precursor.

57. The method of claim 36 , further comprising etching at least part of said at least two regions.

58. The method of claim 57 , wherein said at least one etched region is etched without employing a photoresist mask.

59. The method of claim 57 , further comprising calcinating said mesostructured material after said at least one region has been etched.

60. The method of claim 36 , wherein said different physical properties are discreet between said at least two regions.

61. The method of claim 36 , wherein said different physical properties form a gradient between said at least two regions.

62. The method of claim 61 , wherein said gradient is a continuous gradient.

63. The method of claim 1 , further comprising calcinating said mesostructured material.

64. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one photoactivator generator includes at least one photopolymerizable compound and exposing said film to light polymerizes said at least one photopolymerizable compound.

65. The method of claim 64 , wherein said at least one photopolymerizable compound is an epoxide monomer.

66. The method of claim 64 , wherein exposing said film to light to polymerize said at least one photopolymerizable compound forms a patterned mesoporous material having at least one open pore and at least one closed pore.