title: Entropically driven formation of ultralong helical mesostructured organosilica nanofibers.
abstract: Ultralong helical organosilica nanofibers (length up to millimeter) with ordered helical mesoporous channels are synthesized using achiral cationic surfactant as single-structure-directing agent and anionic citrate as counterions. The surfactant molecules form micelles for silica condensation and the counterions reduce the polarity of the surfactant-silicate micelles via electrostatic balance, leading to the self-assembly and growth of the final product. The detailed mechanistic shape-shifting studies reveal that an entropy increase is the main driving force behind the plastic deformation of the solids.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nanomaterials and Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China.
authors.forename: Sheng-Liang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Lin-Fei
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: An-Wu
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: entropically driven nanofibers; helical mesostructures; organosilical nanofibers; self-assembly