This work presents an extreme biomimetics route for the creation of nanostructured biocomposites utilizing a chitinous template of poriferan origin. The specific thermal stability of the nanostructured chitinous template allowed for the formation under hydrothermal conditions of a novel germanium oxide-chitin composite with a defined nanoscale structure. Using a variety of analytical techniques (FTIR, Raman, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, EDS-mapping, selected area for the electron diffraction pattern (SAEDP), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)), we showed that this bioorganic scaffold induces the growth of GeO2 nanocrystals with a narrow (150–300 nm) size distribution and predominantly hexagonal phase, demonstrating the chitin template’s control over the crystal morphology. The formed GeO2–chitin composite showed several specific physical properties, such as a striking enhancement in photoluminescence exceeding values previously reported in GeO2-based biomaterials. These data demonstrate the potential of extreme biomimetics for developing new-generation nanostructured materials. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
CITATION STYLE
Wysokowski, M., Motylenko, M., Beyer, J., Makarova, A., Stöcker, H., Walter, J., … Ehrlich, H. (2015). Extreme biomimetic approach for developing novel chitin-GeO2 nanocomposites with photoluminescent properties. Nano Research, 8(7), 2288–2301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0739-5
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.