Lyotropic liquid crystalline L3 phase silicated nanoporous monolithic composites and their production

1. Field of the Invention A mesoporous ceramic material is provided having a pore size diameter in the range of about 10-100 nanometers produced by templating with a ceramic precursor a lyotropic liquid crystalline Lphase consisting of a three-dimensional, random, nonperiodic network packing of a multiple connected continuous membrane. A preferred process for producing the inesoporous ceramic material includes producing a template of a lyotropic liquid crystalline Lphase by mixing a surfactant, a co-surfactant and hydrochloric acid, coating the template with an inorganic ceramic precursor by adding to the Lphase tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) or tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and then converting the coated template to a ceramic by removing any remaining liquids.