Supra-assembly of siliceous vesicles.
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.
Wang
Hongning
H
Department of Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Zhou
Xufeng
X
Yu
Meihua
M
Wang
Yunhua
Y
Han
Lu
L
Zhang
Jun
J
Yuan
Pei
P
Auchterlonie
Graeme
G
Zou
Jin
J
Yu
Chengzhong
C