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Bio-assembled Materials

Nature is capable of precise structural assembly from the nanometer scale to the macroscopic level. There is often a hierarchal organization from one scale to another which is lacking in many synthetic materials and structures. Self-assembly information is stored genetically and can be used to form the proteins necessary to control assembly of inorganic materials. Often times the protein becomes part of the material forming hybrid inorganic-organic structures (i.e. mollusk shells, bones, and teeth). These materials built by nature, at ambient conditions, in an environmentally-friendly manner may possess unique crystal structures or shapes unstable as inorganic material alone.

Within the last few decades interest in nano-sized structures and devices has been steadily increasing. Semiconductors and metals with dimensions reduced to the nanometer length-scale exhibit unique electronic and optoelectronic properties which are not observed in bulk materials. Such novel properties can be used to design innovative devices with improved or even new capabilities.

In our lab, we are combine nature's capacity for precise assembly with the unique electronic and optoelectronic properties of semiconductor and metal nanoparticles. We use bio-templates (i.e. microtubules, filamentous viruses, peptides) to build nanowires, thin films, and other interesting geometry structures. By studying the interactions between the organic and inorganic materials and by characterizing the electronic and optoelectronic properties of the materials we create, we hope to generate new materials and devices to address future application challenges such as performance demands and bottom-up assembly.

Sample Publications