Transparent thin (ca. 100 nm) films of silica-surfactant mesostructured materials were deposited on borosilicate glass plates and soda-lime glass tubes from aqueous solutions containing tetraethoxysilane, alkyltrimethylammonium chloride, ammonia, and methanol. By calcination in air, the films became mesoporous (BET surface area of 700-900 m(2) g(-1)) with pore diameter 2.0-2.8 nm. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.