The controllable orientation of TS-1 crystals on a porous alumina substrate is achieved by using, a thin chitosan film as a structure-directing matrix. A single layer of TS-1 crystal grains is fully b-oriented. The crystal grains in a multilayer TS-1 film are preferentially b-oriented (ca. 70%) according to XRD and pole figure analyses (see figure). The obtained membrane shows strong selectivity in an oxidation-catalysis experiment.