title: Supra-assembly of siliceous vesicles.
abstract: We report a new approach to produce macroporous ( approximately 110 nm in diameter) ordered siliceous foams (MOSF) by using block copolymers as templates in the absence of any organic cosolvent. The fine three-dimensional honeycomb structure of MOSF was determined by electron tomography. A formation mechanism of MOSF that spans from the atomic to macroscopic scale is proposed, which involves the cooperative self-assembly of unilamellar vesicles followed by the supra-assembly of vesicles. The fusion of soft vesicles finally leads to MOSF with well-ordered and defined honeycomb structures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xufeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Meihua
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yunhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Auchterlonie
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Chengzhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu