Inorganic Gyroid with Exceptionally Low Refractive Index from Block Copolymer Templating

Nanoporous polymers with gyroid nanochannels can be fabricated from the self-assembly of degradable block copolymer, polystyrene-b-poly(l-lactide) (PS-PLLA), followed by the hydrolysis of PLLA blocks. A well-defined nanohybrid material with SiO2 gyroid nanostructure in a PS matrix can be obtained using the nanoporous PS as a template for sol-gel reaction. After subsequent UV degradation of the PS matrix, a highly porous inorganic gyroid network remains, yielding a single-component material with an exceptionally low refractive index (as low as 1.1).