Liquid crystal surfaces enable manipulation of liquid mobility and cargo release via temperature, electrolytes, and light.

A novel acid–base bifunctional amphiphilic organic nanotube (acid–base-nanotube) containing 1-(2-(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)ethyl)-1H-imidazole (PEI) groups as basic sites on the wall and benzenesulfonic acid (BSA) groups as acidic sites on the corona of nanotubes was successfully synthesized by a combination of molecular-template core–shell bottlebrush copolymers and click reaction. Owing to the hydrophobic cavity microenvironments, a hydrophilic corona, and site-isolation features of organic tubular structures, the resultant acid–base-nanotube showed high catalytic performance for one-pot deacetalization-Knoevenagel cascade reactions in water.

A novel synthesis of triphenylphosphine-based microporous organic nanotube frameworks (MONFs-PPh ₃ ) as a platform for Pd catalyst (MONFs-PPh ₃ @Pd) is reported.