Co-assembly-driven nanocomposite formation techniques toward mesoporous nanosphere engineering: A review

Mesoporous nanospheres are of great importance in the cutting-edge fields of energy, catalysis and sensor technology, mainly because of their multilevel architectures, tunable meso-structures, specific compositions and soft-templated synthesis approaches. In this review, the control mechanisms of aqueous polymer self-assembly are first elaborated based on the correlated driving forces, methods, and initial conditions. Then, recent advances of co-assembly-driven nanocomposite formation techniques toward mesoporous nanosphere engineering using amphiphilic block copolymers and low-molecular-weight surfactants as soft templates are systematically reviewed. Here, soft templates and organic or inorganic precursor species as well as their co-assembly processes and formation mechanisms are elaborated to thoroughly understand co-assembly-driven nanocomposite formation techniques. After soft template removal through high-temperature pyrolysis or solvent extraction, mesoporous nanospheres can be obtained. Generally, this review presents insights and a guideline to co-assembly-driven engineering of mesoporous nanospheres and promotes the development of this emerging interdisciplinary research field at the frontier between organic polymer co-assembly and inorganic nanomaterial fabrication.