Hierarchically Ordered Ceramics Through Surfactant-Templated Sol-Gel Mineralization of Biological Cellular Structures

Abstract

Wood tissues with ordered cellular structurecan be mineralized using the simple surfactant‐templated sol‐gel process presented here. Hierarchical porous ceramic materials that are a faithful reproduction of the biological tissue and that also contain organized nanoporous channels are obtained. The Figure shows a mineralized poplar sample after calcination (see also inside front cover).

Wood Petrifaction: A New View of Permineralization and Replacement

“…Despite these experimental variations, the initial steps in these processes all involve permineralization, where silica precipitates in open spaces within the intact wood ( Figure 13). to use wood as a template for deposition of ceramic materials such as silicon carbide [28][29][30][31], or zeolites [32]. The goal of these studies has been to achieve porous materials that have industrial value, rather than to duplicate natural silicification.…”

Preparation of CaCO3 and CaO Replicas Retaining the Hierarchical Structure of SpruceWood

“…Several attempts to replicate the hierarchical structure of wood from the micrometer to the nanometer scale were successful. For example, a hierarchically porous ceramic silica material was obtained by in situ mineralization of wood cellular structures infiltrated with a surfactanttemplated sol-gel solution [18]. A hierarchically structured iron oxide possessing a tunable porous structure was synthesized from different wood templates [19].…”

Silica replication of the hierarchical structure of wood with nanometer precision

“…29 Other workers were able to produce silica replicates of wood, but they were either rather vague on the actual nature of the samples produced, suggesting that no monolithic samples were produced 30 or did claim, but not conclusively show the replication of the fibril structure of the templates used. 31 Nanometer-scale replication is, however, thought to be the key to novel functional properties based on hierarchical structuring, such as for instance actuators 10 or optical devices.…”