1 Self-Assembly of Mesoporous Nanocrystalline Mixed Metal Oxides from Heterometallic Alkoxide Precursors: Cobalt-Nickel Oxide Spinels Moises A. Carreon a* , Vadim V. Guliants b* ,Li Yuan b , Andrew R. Hughett b , Alan Dozier c , Gulaim A. Seisenbaeva d , Vadim G. Kessler d a Current address: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309-0424. b Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0012 c Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0046 d Department of Chemistry, Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, Box 7015, S-75007, Uppsala, Sweden * Corresponding authors: Email: Moises.Carreon@colorado.edu and vguliant@alpha.che.uc.edu Abstract. Thermally stable robust mesoporous nanocrystalline mixed cobalt-nickel spinel phases displaying unimodal pores in the 7-12 nm range and relatively high specific surface areas up to 83 m 2 /g were prepared by a novel low temperature synthesis approach in which the desired metal oxide stoichiometries were introduced on a molecular level by reacting heterometallic alkoxide precursors in the presence of supramolecular liquid crystalline phases. The resultant mesophases, composed mainly of ~8-11 nm cobalt-nickel spinel nanoparticles were highly promising as low temperature hydrocarbon combustion catalysts investigated in a model reaction of propane oxidation.