Biomimetic Pathways for Assembling Inorganic Thin Films

TLDR

Living organisms build laminated nanocomposites by directing inorganic nucleation on self‑assembled organic templates at sub‑100 °C aqueous conditions, and recent work uses functionalized organic surfaces to create continuous single‑phase ceramic thin films. First, under acidic conditions, surfactant micellar structures self‑assemble at the solid/liquid interface, then inorganic precursors condense to form an inorganic‑organic nanocomposite. The two‑step acidic micelle‑templated process yields continuous mesostructured silicate thin films on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces, with epitaxial surfactant tubule ordering on mica and graphite but random arrangement on amorphous silica, demonstrating a versatile route to ceramic‑organic nanocomposite films with technological potential.

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.