Silica nanostructures (basically a synthetic analogue of bone-like cellular structures replicated at the nanoscale using silica compounds) which may improve performance where increased pore volume is important. These include modern thin-film applications such as membrane barriers, molecular recognition sensors, and low-dielectric-constant insulators needed for future generation of microelectronic devices. On the left is a TEM micrograph of a porous, cube-like nanostructure. On the right is a blow-up of the silica framework (the dark <2-nm thick regions on the left side figure) based on modeling.