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One step sol–gel reaction, followed by solvent exchange free ambient pressure drying resulted in various monolithic silica aerogels from super-hydrophobic to hydrophilic with densities as low as 0.026 g cm−3 and thermal conductivities lower than air.

Condensation of DNAh elices into hexagonally packed bundles and toroids represents an intriguing example of functional organization of biological macromolecules at the nanoscale.T he condensation models are based on the unique polyelectrolyte features of DNA, however here we could reproduce aD NA-like condensation with supramolecular helices of small chiral molecules,t hereby demonstrating that it is am ore general phenomenon. We showt hat the bile salt sodium deoxycholate can form supramolecular helices upon interaction with oppositely charged polyelectrolytes of homopolymer or blockc opolymers.A th igher order,acontrolled hexagonal packing of the helices into DNA-like bundles and toroids could be accomplished. The results disclose unknown similarities between covalent and supramolecular non-covalent helical polyelectrolytes,w hich inspire visionary ideas of constructing supramolecular versions of biological macromolecules.A sd rug nanocarriers the polymer-bile salt superstructures would get advantage of ac omplex chirality at molecular and supramolecular levels,w hose effect on the nanocarrier assisted drug efficiency is as till unexplored fascinating issue.

Electrostatically driven co-assembly of oppositely charged block copolymers and bile salt anticipates bile salt sequestration based on amphiphilic block copolymers.

The combination of an emulsion template with polymerization is a very convenient approach to the one-step realization of both simple control porous structures via a change in emulsion formulation and easy functionalization via the concomitant choice of an on-demand monomer. A major challenge of this approach is the inherent instability of the oil/water interface in emulsions, especially the occurrence of chemical reactions in oil or aqueous phases. This study reports the pioneering preparation of highly interconnected macro-mesopores and multicompartment (HIMC) vinyl organosilica microspheres with hydrophobicity by the one-step formation of W/O/W emulsions acting as a template. The emulsion system consists of acidified deionized water, a stabilizer, and vinyltriethoxysilane (VTEO) in which VTEO can be used to produce an organosilica skeleton of the resultant microsphere by a sol-gel process. The study demonstrated that the marvelous stability of W/O/W emulsions aids the formation of multicompartment organosilica microspheres with highly interconnected macro-mesopores by emulsion droplets rather than single-compartment (SC) microspheres. Meanwhile, the internal porous structure and surface morphology of as-prepared organosilica microspheres could be largely tuned by a simple variation of the pH value, the volume fraction of the water phase, and the stabilizer concentration in the initiating multiemulsions. Benefiting from such a well-orchestrated structure and the existence of numerous vinyl groups on the surface, HIMC organosilica microspheres exhibit very high hydrophobicity (with a water contact angle larger than 160°), which allows them to stabilize liquid marbles with excellent stability and high mechanical robustness. Because of its strong catalyst, Ag nanoparticles within HIMC organosilica microspheres enable Ag/HIMC-vinyl organosilica microsphere-based liquid marbles to be an efficient catalytic microreactor, realizing the complete degradation of MB to leuco methylene blue by NaBH in 10 min. The result of this work could provide some guidance for the easy, low-cost, benign preparation of HIMC microspheres having the potential to be excellent supporter of metal nanoparticles or other functionalized compounds for applications in sensing, optoelectronics, and catalysis.

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Condensation of DNA helices into hexagonally packed bundles and toroids represents an intriguing example of functional organization of biological macromolecules at the nanoscale. The condensation models are based on the unique polyelectrolyte features of DNA, however here we could reproduce a DNA‐like condensation with supramolecular helices of small chiral molecules, thereby demonstrating that it is a more general phenomenon. We show that the bile salt sodium deoxycholate can form supramolecular helices upon interaction with oppositely charged polyelectrolytes of homopolymer or block copolymers. At higher order, a controlled hexagonal packing of the helices into DNA‐like bundles and toroids could be accomplished. The results disclose unknown similarities between covalent and supramolecular non‐covalent helical polyelectrolytes, which inspire visionary ideas of constructing supramolecular versions of biological macromolecules. As drug nanocarriers the polymer–bile salt superstructures would get advantage of a complex chirality at molecular and supramolecular levels, whose effect on the nanocarrier assisted drug efficiency is a still unexplored fascinating issue.