Abstract: Free-standing silica membranes were prepared at the air-water interface by biomimetic synthesis technology
from the hydrolysis of tetraethyoxysilane (TEOS) under the templating of assemblies of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Time was chosen, the
material ratio used in the membrane-growing process that determined the qualities of membranes was optimized. Membrane formation can be considered to
involve polymerization of silicates in surfactant head group regions of a hexagonal mesophase that is concentrated at the liquid surface overstructure.

Key words: biomimetic synthesis, silica membrane, inorganic membrane, replicate