Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4390, USA.
Soft Matter. 2018 Apr 25;14(16):3164-3170. doi: 10.1039/c7sm02466e.
Silica-carbonate biomorphs are inorganic materials composed of thousands of crystalline nanorods that assemble complex morphologies such as helices, vessels, and sheets. We investigate the effect on biomorph crystallization of polyelectrolyte complex films that are prepared using the layer-by-layer deposition technique and post-processed to obtain three stable, chemically distinct films. Biomorph growth on poly(diallyldimethylammonium)-dominated substrates (cationic) shows polycrystalline helical and sheet structures bounded by large witherite prisms. Crystallization on poly(styrenesulfonate)-dominated (anionic) and stoichiometric substrates follows a qualitatively different pathway. We observe islands of radial mineral films that over several days extend at a remarkably constant velocity of 0.48 μm h-1 and eventually mineralize the whole substrate. Our work opens exciting avenues for the use of polyelectrolyte films as tunable substrates for biomimetic crystallization.
硅碳生物形态是由数千根结晶纳米棒组成的无机材料，这些纳米棒组装成复杂的形态，如螺旋、管和片。我们研究了使用层层沉积技术制备的聚电解质复合膜对生物形态结晶的影响，并对其进行了后处理，得到了三种稳定的、化学性质不同的膜。在聚二烯丙基二甲基氯化铵主导的（阳离子）基底上生长的生物形态表现出由大文石棱柱体限定的多晶螺旋和片状结构。在聚（苯乙烯磺酸盐）主导的（阴离子）和化学计量的基底上的结晶遵循一种不同的定性途径。我们观察到径向矿化膜的岛状结构，在几天内以非常恒定的速度 0.48 μm h-1 扩展，最终使整个基底矿化。我们的工作为聚电解质膜作为仿生结晶的可调谐基底的应用开辟了令人兴奋的途径。
