This paper reports a thorough microstructural characterization of glancing angle deposited (GLAD) TiO(2) thin films. Atomic force microscopy (afm), grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) and water adsorption isotherms have been used to determine the evolution of porosity and the existence of some correlation distances between the nanocolumns constituting the basic elements of the film's nanostructure. It is found that the deposition angle and, to a lesser extent, the film thickness are the most important parameters controlling properties of the thin film. The importance of porosity and some critical dimensions encountered in the investigated GLAD thin films is highlighted in relation to the analysis of their optical properties when utilized as antireflective coatings or as hosts and templates for the development of new composite materials.

Designing the topology of ionconducting nano-channels is of paramount interest for applications in separation and catalysis. Dimitri A. Ivanov, Xiaomin Zhu, and co-workers demonstrate on page 3543 how the size and structure of nano-channels can be fine-tuned by using humidity-induced phase transitions in a novel wedge-shaped amphiphile bearing a sulfonate group at the tip. The resulting selfassembled structure can be arrested by photopolymerization to obtain free-standing mechanically stable membranes.