New nanocomposites: putting organic function "inside" the channel walls of periodic mesoporous silica

Nature's accomplishments are inspiring chemists to design new materials based on biologically formed organic and inorganic structures that have been optimized over evolutionary timescales. A recent breakthrough in biomimetic materials chemistry has seen the fusion of organic and inorganic chemistry within the channel walls of periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs). The incorporation of organic moieties in the walls of the liquid crystal templated mesoporous silica confers unique chemical, physical and mechanical properties upon the materials. In this Feature Article, we provide an overview of this new class of materials and propose a classification scheme that will distinguish the PMOs from other mesoporous organic-inorganic hybrid materials.