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Molecular self-assembly is the spontaneous association of molecules into structured aggregates by which nature builds complex functional systems. While numerous examples have focused on 2D self-assembly to understand the underlying mechanism and mimic this process to create artificial nano- and microstructures, limited progress has been made toward 3D self-assembly on the molecular level. Here we show that a helical β-peptide foldamer, an artificial protein fragment, with well-defined secondary structure self-assembles to form an unprecedented 3D molecular architecture with a molar tooth shape in a controlled manner in aqueous solution. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis, combined with global optimization and Rietveld refinement, allowed us to propose its molecular arrangement. We found that four individual left-handed helical monomers constitute a right-handed superhelix in a unit cell of the assembly, similar to that found in the supercoiled structure of collagen.

Multiammonium surfactants exhibited a remarkable capping effect for zeolite synthesis in the forms of nanoparticles, nanorods, and nanosponges in cases where common monovalent surfactants failed. A nanorod-shaped mordenite zeolite synthesized in this manner showed significantly enhanced catalytic lifetimes in acid-catalyzed cumene synthesis reactions.

Multiammonium‐Tenside wirken auch dann als Oberflächenbeschichtung in der Synthese von Zeolith‐Nanopartikeln, ‐Nanostäben und ‐Nanoschwämmen, wenn übliche einwertige Tenside versagen. Mithilfe dieser Tenside hergestellte Mordenit‐Nanostäbe sind saure Katalysatoren der Cumolsynthese mit verlängerter Lebensdauer.

A widely employed route for synthesizing mesostructured materials is the use of surfactant micelles or amphiphilic block copolymers as structure-directing agents. A versatile synthesis method is described for mesostructured materials composed of ultrathin inorganic frameworks using amorphous linear-chain polymers functionalized with a random distribution of side groups that can participate in inorganic crystallization. Tight binding of the side groups with inorganic species enforces strain in the polymer backbones, limiting the crystallization to the ultrathin micellar scale. This method is demonstrated for a variety of materials, such as hierarchically nanoporous zeolites, their aluminophosphate analogue, TiO2 nanosheets of sub-nanometer thickness, and mesoporous TiO2, SnO2, and ZrO2. This polymer-directed synthesis is expected to widen our accessibility to unexplored mesostructured materials in a simple and mass-producible manner.

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