Despite considerable advancements in the synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) mesoporous nanomaterials, achieving precise control over their components, morphology, lateral dimension, and thickness remains a formidable challenge. Here, we report a rational interface-confined anisotropic assembly strategy that enables the synthesis of square-shaped 2D mesoporous nanosheets with finely tunable features including compositions (metal ion-doped mesoporous polydopamine or silica), lateral dimensions (100-200 nm), thicknesses (14-25 nm), and in-plane mesopore sizes (8-20 nm). In this strategy, truncated rhombic dodecahedral ZIF-8 metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles serve as seeds to direct the selective assembly of mesoporous micelles onto their six 100 facets. The geometric confinement of these square facets guides the interfacial organization of micelles into 2D sheet-like structure, faithfully inheriting the square geometry. Following etching of the ZIF-8 seeds, the resulting nanosheets preserve their well-defined square-shaped 2D morphology and mesoporous architecture. This versatile approach enables the fabrication of diverse 2D mesoporous tunable structural attributes and metal-ion dopants. As a proof of concept, mPDA-Zn2+/Fe2+ nanosquares, featuring a uniform 2D architecture, near-infrared (NIR) photothermal properties, and Fenton-like catalytic activity, demonstrate synergistic therapeutic effects. Compared to conventional spherical analogs (1. 08 × 10-8 M/s), these nanosquares (2. 11 × 10-8 M/s) achieve nearly doubled maximum reaction rates and achieved remarkable tumor inhibition of up to 90%. Overall, this study establishes a novel approach for the precise engineering of 2D mesoporous nanosquares with controllable parameters, unlocking new opportunities for applications in biomedicine and beyond.
Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.