This study introduces a novel "solvent-pair surfactants" enabled assembly (SPEA) method for synthesizing functional mesoporous metal oxides (mMOs). The method utilizes a binary solvent system (e.g., DMF/H₂O) to overcome limitations of traditional host-guest interactions in assembling polyoxometalates (POMs) and amphiphilic block copolymers (AB copolymers). The resulting mMOs exhibit ordered mesostructures with tunable pore sizes and compositions, demonstrated by the synthesis of nitrogen-doped ε-WO₃ with superior acetone sensing performance. The SPEA approach offers a general and versatile route for designing mMOs with diverse structures and compositions for various applications.

Wentao Xu, Yaru Ren, Fei Jiang, Bingyue Yang, Xiaohan Hu, Yanzhao Zhang, Jialin Li, Kun Cheng, Junjie Liu, Bo Han, Yonghui Deng