| Abstract: | The field of porous, inorganic materials is experiencing explosive growth, as is shown by more than 6000 literature citations since 1994 along with numerous recent symposia and workshops that have been devoted to this topic. Much of the recent interest has been fueled by new synthetic strategies, such as ‘supramolecular templating’, that have enabled precise engineering of pore size, shape, and connectivity on the mesoscopic scale. In general, template-based approaches involving the cooperative organization of organic—inorganic assemblies as intermediates are emerging as a promising conceptual basis for future developments in the field of porous inorganic materials, such as the synthesis of hierarchical morphologies that mimic the intricate structures found so often in nature. |
