Speaker: Rodrigo Magaña, from Colloidal and Interfacial Chemistry group

Title: Bioinspired Scaffolding by (bio)macromolecules to produce silica superstructures at mild conditions.

Time: 12h.

CSIC Conecta link: https://conectaha.csic.es/b/car-u0k-fuk-ixm

Abstract:

Silica materials attract increasing interest in (fundamental) research and find applications in, for example, sensing, catalysis, and drug delivery. As the properties of these (nano)materials not only depend on their chemistry but also their size, shape, and surface area, the controllable synthesis of silica is essential for tailoring the materials to specific applications. Advantageously, bioinspired routes for silica production are environmentally friendly and straightforward since the formation process is spontaneous and proceeds under mild conditions. These strategies mostly employ amine‐bearing phosphorylated (bio)polymers. This work expands this principle to supramolecular polymers based on the water‐soluble cationic cyanine dye Pinacyanol acetate. These dye molecules form large, polyaminated, supramolecular fibres that can be used as scaffolds for driving silicic acid polymerisation at neutral pH and room temperature upon assembly in water. Control over the ionic strength, dye concentration, and silicic acid saturation allowed the production of silica superstructures composed of nanofibers with a diameter of 25 nm and a single, 4 nm pore. Interestingly, external force fields can profoundly influence the produced silica’s morphology related to condensation kinetics, allowing us to access novel structures not attainable by traditional means.