Recent advances in the synthesis of inorganic nano/microstructures using microbial biotemplates and their applications

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Abstract

Microbial biotemplates for synthesizing inorganic nanostructures of defined morphology and size.

Abstract

Biotemplates from microbial origin have been a new source of inspiration for designing and fabricating intricate, high surface area structures that possess potent applications in nanotechnology. Microbial biotemplates are useful for synthesizing nano/micro structural materials based on a bottom up approach. Being from nature, microbial biotemplates with their extraordinarily molecular machinery have been reported to be considerably superior and cost effective for fabricating complex and heterogeneous structures when compared to the conventional and advanced lithographic techniques. The advantage of speedy growth and multiplication along with controlled shape, structure and size, make microorganisms a viable template for preparing nanomaterials of defined size and shape. In this review, we have consolidated the recent advances in the synthesis of nano/micro structures using biotemplates obtained from various types of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, algae and virus, and have highlighted its possible applications. This review excludes biomolecules like DNA, protein and lipid based biotemplates extracted from various microorganisms.

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Virus-enabled synthesis and assembly of nanowires for lithium ion battery electrodes.

Ki Tae Nam, Dong-Wan Kim, Pil J Yoo … (2006)

The selection and assembly of materials are central issues in the development of smaller, more flexible batteries. Cobalt oxide has shown excellent electrochemical cycling properties and is thus under consideration as an electrode for advanced lithium batteries. We used viruses to synthesize and assemble nanowires of cobalt oxide at room temperature. By incorporating gold-binding peptides into the filament coat, we formed hybrid gold-cobalt oxide wires that improved battery capacity. Combining virus-templated synthesis at the peptide level and methods for controlling two-dimensional assembly of viruses on polyelectrolyte multilayers provides a systematic platform for integrating these nanomaterials to form thin, flexible lithium ion batteries.

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Controlled replication of butterfly wings for achieving tunable photonic properties.

J. C. Huang, Xudong Wang, Z. Wang (2006)

The fine structure of the wing scale of a Morpho Peleides butterfly was examined carefully, and the entire configuration was completely replicated by a uniform Al(2)O(3) coating through a low-temperature ALD process. An inverted structure was achieved by removing the butterfly wing template at high temperature, forming a polycrystalline Al(2)O(3) shell structure with precisely controlled thickness. Other than the copy of the morphology of the structure, the optical property, such as the existence of PBG, was also inherited by the alumina replica. Reflection peaks at the violet/blue range were detected on both original wings and their replica, while a simple alumina coating shifted the reflection peak to longer wavelength because of the change of periodicity and refraction index. The alumina replicas also exhibited similar functional structures as waveguide and beam splitter, which may be used as the building blocks for photonic ICs with high reproducibility and lower fabrication cost compared to traditional lithography techniques.