TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The process comprises forming structures comprising crosslinked silicon oxide which connect at least some of the crosslinked silicon oxide units. The aqueous reaction medium is prepared by combining one or more non-ionic surfactants and water, and forming an aqueous reaction medium comprising micelles. The micelle swelling agent exhibits a boiling point below the temperature utilized in step (b). Preferred Components: The water soluble silica sources are silicic acid or polysilicic acids. The aqueous reaction medium further comprises one or more micelle swelling agents capable of swelling the micelles. The mesoporous structures are separated from the aqueous reaction medium. The weight ratio of the micelle swelling agent to surfactant is 1:4-8:1. The connectivity of the crosslinked silicon oxide network is 2.5 or less, where the connectivity is defined by Q4/(Q2+Q3), where Q4 is the number of silicon oxide units having four bonds to other silicon oxide units, Q3 is number of silicon oxide units having three bonds to other silicon oxide units, and Q2 is number of silicon oxide units having two bonds to other silicon oxide units. The crosslinked silicon oxide units contain silanol groups in a concentration of 6 wt.% or greater. The mesoporous structures formed are opaque when contracted with carbon tetrachloride. The crosslinked silicon oxide units contain hydroxyl (OH) groups from silanol groups in a concentration of 6 wt.% or greater. The crosslinked silicon oxide units define pores of 1-100 nm, where the crosslinked silicon oxide units defining pores are connected to one another by struts comprising crosslinked silicon oxide structures, and windows are formed by the struts and the crosslinked silicon oxide units defining pores, and the windows have a size of 2-20 nm. The mesoporous structures contain 0.01-50 wt.% of organic compounds. The mesoporous structures contain 0.0051-0.5 wt.% of metal, metal oxide or metal ions. The ratio of the pore size to the window size is 0.5-2. EXAMPLE - None given.