title: The formation of helical mesoporous silica nanotubes.
abstract: Three chiral cationic gelators were synthesized. They can form translucent hydrogels in pure water. These hydrogels become highly viscous liquids under strong stirring. Mesoporous silica nanotubes with coiled pore channels in the walls were prepared using the self-assemblies of these gelators as templates. The mechanism of the formation of this hierarchical nanostructure was studied using transmission electron microscopy at different reaction times. The results indicated that there are some interactions between the silica source and the gelator. The morphologies of the self-assemblies of gelators changed gradually during the sol-gel transcription process. It seems that the silica source directed the organic self-assemblies into helical nanostructures.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Organic Synthesis of Jiangsu Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Suzhou (Soochow) University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Xianfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Huanyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yuanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yongmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Baozong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hanabusa
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang