The results indicate that

1. Excellent agreement was found between numerical predictions and experimentally measured
   reflectance for both cubic and hexagonal mesoporous thin films and the dehydrated
   or hydrated Brij76 cubic film.
2. The silica matrix has the same index of refraction as bulk silica glass (amorphous).
3. when the film is fully hydrated, the phase occupying the pores has the same index of refraction as liquid water.
4. This study also validates experimentally the numerical tool and the numerical results.
5. The method and the results can be used to design and guide the synthesis of novel nanostructures with desired optical properties for various applications without relying on EMAs or mixing rules.
   

N. Hutchinson , T. Coquil, E. Richman, S. Tolbert, and L. Pilon, 2010. Reflectance of Surfactant-Templated Mesoporous Silica Thin Films : Simulations Versus Experiments. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 518, pp. 2134-2140. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2009.08.006

N. Hutchinson , A. Navid, T. Coquil, and L. Pilon, 2010. Effective Optical Properties of Highly Ordered Mesoporous Thin Films. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 518, pp. 2141-2146. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2009.08.048

A. Navid and L. Pilon, 2008. Effect of Polarization and Morphology on the Optical Properties of Absorbing Nanoporous Thin Films, Thin Solid Films, Vol. 516, pp.4159-4167. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2007.10.117

A. Garahan, L. Pilon, J. Yin, and I. Saxena, 2007. Effective Optical Properties of Absorbing Nanoporous and Nanocomposite Thin-Films. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 101, No.11, 014320. doi:10.1063/1.2402327

A. Pap, K. Kordás, J. Vähäkangas, S. Leppävuori, L. Pilon, and S. Szatmári, 2006. Optical Properties of Porous Silicon, Part III: Comparative Study on Experimental and Theoretical Results, Optical Materials, Vol. 28, pp.506-513. doi:10.1016/j.optmat.2005.02.006

M. M. Braun and L. Pilon, 2006. Effective Optical Properties of Non-Absorbing Nanoporous Media. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 496, No.2, pp.505-514. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2005.08.173