Gels as Templates for Nanotubes

Abstract

The design of artificial models for “biomineralization” processes that utilize sol-gel polycondensation has led to a merging of inorganic materials science and supramolecular organic chemistry. This chapter introduces self-assembled superstructures of cyclohexane-based, sugar-integrated, and crown-appended cholesterol gelators, which are used as versatile building blocks in organogels and as templates for sol-gel transcription. This review focuses on the use of these self-assembled organic superstructures in the creation of novel inorganic materials with controlled morphologies.