Hierarchical micro- and mesoporosity present in bulk, mesoporous imprinted silica. Shown at far right are silica particles that are approximately 20 mm in diameter, followed by a schematic of colloidal silica building-blocks, which are expected to be approximately 50 nm in diameter based on the method of materials synthesis, followed by the imprinted site, which is approximately 1 nm in size. Mesopores result in spaces in-between the colloidal building blocks, whereas micropores are synthesized upon imprint deprotection (process not shown above).