Yuan Hui, Xue Bin, Yang Dingyi, Rencus-Lazar Sigal, Cao Yi, Gazit Ehud, Tan Dan, Yang Rusen
School of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710126, China.
The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel.
Research (Wash D C). 2023;6:0046. doi: 10.34133/research.0046. Epub 2023 Feb 24.
Hydrogen bonds are non-covalent interactions and essential for assembling supermolecules into ordered structures in biological systems, endowing crystals with fascinating physical properties, and inspiring the construction of eco-friendly electromechanical devices. However, the interplay between hydrogen bonding and the physical properties is not fully understood at the molecular level. Herein, we demonstrate that the physical property of biological crystals with double-layer structures could be enhanced by rationally controlling hydrogen bonding interactions between amino and carboxyl groups. Different hydrogen bonding interactions result in various thermal, mechanical, electronic, and piezoelectric properties. In particular, the weak interaction between O and H atoms contributes to low mechanical strength that permits important ion displacement under stress, giving rise to a strong piezoelectric response. This study not only reveals the correlation between the hydrogen bonding and physical properties in double-layer structures of biological crystals but also demonstrates the potential of these crystals as functional biomaterials for high-performance energy-harvesting devices. Theoretical calculations and experimental verifications in this work provide new insights into the rational design of biomaterials with desirable physical properties for bioelectrical devices by modulating intermolecular interactions.
氢键是非共价相互作用，对于生物系统中将超分子组装成有序结构、赋予晶体迷人的物理性质以及启发环保型机电设备的构建至关重要。然而，在分子水平上，氢键与物理性质之间的相互作用尚未完全明晰。在此，我们证明，通过合理控制氨基和羧基之间的氢键相互作用，可以增强具有双层结构的生物晶体的物理性质。不同的氢键相互作用会导致各种热、机械、电子和压电性质。特别是，O原子和H原子之间的弱相互作用导致机械强度较低，这使得在应力作用下重要的离子能够发生位移，从而产生强烈的压电响应。本研究不仅揭示了生物晶体双层结构中氢键与物理性质之间的相关性，还展示了这些晶体作为高性能能量收集装置功能生物材料的潜力。这项工作中的理论计算和实验验证为通过调节分子间相互作用来合理设计具有理想物理性质的生物材料用于生物电气设备提供了新的见解。
