The layered polysilicate kanemite can be used to synthesize the novel mesoporous silica KSW‐2 (see picture), which contains square channels. The individual silicate sheets of kanemite are bent during the gradual leaching of hexadecyltrimethylammonium (C16TMA) surfactants from a layered C16TMA–kanemite complex.

Two-dimensional hexagonally ordered mesoporous Pt particles are prepared by Pt deposition in the aqueous domains of lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC) by chemical reduction with Zn powders. Interestingly, the framework is composed of connected nanoparticles of about 3 nm in size. Moreover, it is proved that the lattice fringes on the atomic crystallinity are coherently extended across the several nanoparticles in the framework. Such a framework composed of connected nanoparticles with extended crystallinity is uniquely created by using LLC as a soft template, which is not attainable by a traditional approach using mesoporous silica as a hard template. Through the structural identification, the formation mechanism of mesoporous Pt in the presence of LLC is thought to be continuous deposition of Pt nanoparticles from one nanoparticle.

Magnets made to order: Highly ordered multicomponent mesostructured alloys with controllable compositions have been synthesized [see TEM image and electron diffraction patterns (inset)]. The saturation magnetization of the alloys can be controlled by changing the ratio of metal components. New functions that are not found in a single metal system can be realized by alloying, thus opening up a range of new magnetic applications for these materials.

A new type of platinum nanowire with a bumpy surface "Pt nanoworm" is electrochemically synthesized in mesochannels of mesoporous silica films with the assistance of a nonionic surfactant (C(16)EO(8)).