Synthesis of nanostructured materials with biological agents
Aug 03, 2021
The latest trend in battery materials processing is using biomineralization process in order to build controlled nanoarchitectured compounds under ambient conditions [Ryu, J. et al.
(2010)]. Biomimetic chemistry involves the utilization of actual biomolecular entities such as proteins, bacteria and viruses to act either as a growth medium or as a spatially constrained nanoscale reactor for the generation of nanoparticles. Biosystems have the inherent capabilities of molecular recognition and self-assembly, and thus are an attractive template for constructing and organizing the nanostructure. Ryu et al. synthesized nanostructured transition metal phosphate via biomimetic mineralization of peptide nanofibers (figure 11).
Peptides self-assembled into nanofibers displaying numerous acidic and polar moieties on their surface and readily mineralized with transition metal phosphate by sequential treatment with aqueous solutions containing transition metal cations and phosphate anions.
FePO4-mineralized peptide nanofibers were thermally treated at 350º C to fabricate FePO4 nanotubes with inner walls coated with a thin layer of conductive carbon by carbonization of the peptide core. As formed carbon coated FePO4 nanotubes showed high reversible capacity (150 mAh·g-1 at C/17) and good capacity retention during cycling.
Schematic of FePO4 nanotubes synthesis by heat treatment of peptide/FePO4 hybrid nanofibers; and b) transmission micrograph of tubular structures. [Reproduced from Ryu et al. (2010)].
Bacillus pasteurii bacterium has been extensively used to provoke calcite precipitation and it can generate a basic medium from urea hydrolysis that helps growing of LiFePO4 nanofilaments at 65º C. Beer yeast has also been reported as a biomimetic template that has been used to prepare LiFePO4 with enhanced surface area and conductivity [Li, P. et al. (2009)].
Engineered viruses have also been reported as templates to synthesize various electrode materials [Mao, Y. et al. (2007)], such as gold-cobalt oxide nanowires that consisted on 2-3 nm diameter nanocrystals prepared with modified bacteria M13 virus, with enhanced capacity retention [Tam, K.T. et al. (2006)]. Tobacco mosaic virus has also been used as a template for the synthesis of nickel and cobalt surfaces. This virus was genetically engineered to express a novel coat protein cysteine residue, and to vertically pattern virus particles into gold surfaces via gold-thiol interactions. Gold-supported vertically aligned virion particles served as vertical templates for reductive deposition of Ni and Co at room temperature via electroless deposition, and thus produced high surface area electrodes [Royston, E. et al. (2008)].
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