Layer-by-Layer Templated Assembly of Silica at the Nanoscale
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS)
- Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of of Biochemistry & Cellular & Molecular Biology
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division
Bioinspired bottom-up assembly and layer-by-layer (LbL) construction of inorganic materials from lithographically defined organic templates enables the fabrication of nanostructured systems under mild temperature and pH conditions. Such processes open the door to low-impact manufacturing and facile recycling of hybrid materials for energy, biology, and information technologies. Here, templated LbL assembly of silica was achieved using a combination of electron beam lithography, chemical lift-off, and aqueous solution chemistry. Nanopatterns of lines, honeycomb-lattices, and dot arrays were defined in polymer resist using electron beam lithography. Following development, exposed areas of silicon were functionalized with a vapor deposited amine-silane monolayer. Silicic acid solutions of varying pH and salt content were reacted with the patterned organic amine-functional templates. Vapor treatment and solution reaction could be repeated, allowing LbL deposition. Conditions for the silicic acid deposition had a strong effect on thickness of each layer, and the morphology of the amorphous silica formed. Defects in the arrays of silica nanostructures were minor and do not affect the overall organization of the layers. In conclusion, the bioinspired method described here facilitates the bottom-up assembly of inorganic nanostructures defined in three dimensions and provides a path, via LbL processing, for the construction of layered hybrid materials under mild conditions.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1068083
- Journal Information:
- Langmuir, Vol. 29, Issue 7; ISSN 0743-7463
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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