Biomimetic Pathways for Assembling Inorganic Thin Films

Abstract

Living organisms construct various forms of laminated nanocomposites through directed nucleation and growth of inorganics at self-assembled organic templates at temperatures below 100°C and in aqueous solutions. Recent research has focused on the use of functionalized organic surfaces to form continuous thin films of single-phase ceramics. Continuous thin films of mesostructured silicates have also been formed on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces through a two-step mechanism. First, under acidic conditions, surfactant micellar structures are self-assembled at the solid/liquid interface, and second, inorganic precursors condense to form an inorganic-organic nanocomposite. Epitaxial coordination of adsorbed surfactant tubules is observed on mica and graphite substrates, whereas a random arrangement is observed on amorphous silica. The ability to process ceramic-organic nanocomposite films by these methods provides new technological opportunities.

Self-Assembled TiO2–Graphene Hybrid Nanostructures for Enhanced Li-Ion Insertion

“…To ensure uniform coating of the metal oxide on graphene surfaces, we use an approach akin to the pioneering studies done with atomic force microscopy (AFM) on the self-assembly of surfactant micelles and their hybrid nanostructures with inorganics on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. 38,39 The use of surfactants not only solves the hydrophobic/hydrophilic incompatibility problem, but also provides the molecular template for controlled nucleation and growth of the nanostructured inorganics. 38,40 This approach, schematically illustrated in Scheme 1, starts with the dispersion of the graphene sheets with an anionic sulfate surfactant (i.e., sodium dodecyl sulfate) and proceeds with the self-assembly of surfactants with the metal oxide precursor and the in situ crystallization of metal oxide precursors to produce the desired oxide phase and morphology.…”

Effects of surface energies of biomimetic materials for stone conservation on reinforcement properties

“…As an artificial simulation process, the biomimetic or biocontrolled process is a new synthetic process that can produce useful film with similar designs, in which the inorganic materials with higher order structures and super performances are prepared under the action of some self-assembled organic templates containing anionic functional groups [6,7]. Therefore, it is important to study the interaction between the materials and substrate with templates for investigating the mechanism of synthesis process and improvement of mechanical properties [8].…”

Unique Features and Properties of Nanostructured Materials

“…It has been possible to process these ceramic-organic nanocomposite structures which provide new technological opportunities and potential for applications. [3] Other exciting results have been published such as the biomimetic growth of synthetic fluorapatite [4] in the laboratory and promising new technical applications of these nanomaterials are envisioned. [5] Other man-made nanostructures were manufactured for their attractive optical properties, such as the colloidal gold particles in glass as seen in medieval church windows.…”