Bimodal ordered porous hierarchies from cooperative soft-hard template pairs

Self-assembly of mesoscopic units into complex structures is interesting and critical for extensive exploration of mesostructured materials. However, multiple assemblies of micelles are still at an elementary level because of the difficulty of retaining micellar interactions and compatibility during fabrication of elaborate mesostructures. Here, by employing a well-matched soft-hard template pair, we demonstrate a type of ordered porous hierarchies assembled from “soft” micelles (triblock copolymer Pluronic F127/polydopamine composite) and “hard” silica spheres as two building blocks. The hydroxy-rich SiO2 colloids as a hard template assure sufficient interactive force, and simultaneously the “hard” nanoparticles do not interfere with “soft” micelle assembly, leading to desirable compatibility in the plural assembly system. The fabricated porous hierarchies possess excellent porosity, and the two synergetic building blocks contribute to highly tailored structures with varied diameter and thickness. Our study provides an alternative pathway for assembling integrated, multiscale mesostructures and complex hierarchies for advanced technologies.