Design of nanohybrid and nanoporous materials through self-assembly of organosilane molecules

Structural control of silica-based materials prepared by sol-gel chemistry is important from both fundamental and practical viewpoints. This paper reviews our work on the synthesis of ordered siloxane-based nanomaterials by self-assembly of organosilane-based precursors. Lamellar siloxane-organic hybrids with various structures, macroscopic morphologies, and properties have been prepared from long-chain alkyltrialkoxysilanes or organoalkoxysilane- tetraalkoxysilane mixtures by self-assembly during hydrolysis and polycondensation. Furthermore, the molecular design of novel alkylsiloxane precursors having a large oligosiloxane head led to the formation of hybrid mesostructures consisting of cylindrical assemblies that gave ordered microporous or mesoporous silica by calcination. These results open a new self-assembly route to the design of ordered nanoporous materials as well as nanohybrid materials without the use of any templates or structure-directing agents.