Synthesis of manganese oxide nanostructures using bacterial soft templates

Abstract

Manganese oxides with rod- and hollow-type nanostructures were prepared via bacterial templates, in a Bacillus subtilis-directed synthesis that utilized manganese oxide precursors initially prepared in a water-based system at room temperature. From diverse analyses, we observed that the obtained manganese oxide nanostructures are composed of single nanocrystals or small clusters of approximately 2 to 5 nm in diameter, and are attached onto the bacterial template with uniform distribution. Additionally, template removal through a calcining process revealed hollow-type manganese oxide nanostructures without decomposition of one-dimensional character. In addition, the lithium electroactivities of the as-synthesized samples were investigated.