Bioinspired Synthesis of Quasi-Two-Dimensional Monocrystalline Oxides

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Controllable synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) monocrystalline oxide nanomaterials beyond van der Waals solids is intriguing but very challenging. Inspired by the biomineralization processes that commonly implement organic templates with both positive and negative charges for regulating the crystal nucleation and growth, we adapted mix-charges amphiphilic monolayer to the ionic layer epitaxy and enabled the growth of monocrystalline 2D nanosheets. In situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and ex situ crystal and elemental analyses revealed that mixing charge in the template is able to tune the 2D crystal nucleation rate and promote the growth of monocrystalline domains. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that mixing charges could yield a stable, flatter, and more ordered monolayer template with a nonuniform distribution of charges, which are favorable for the growth of monocrystalline nanosheets. Designing the mixed amphiphilic monolayers resulted in the creation of ultrathin nanosheets from various oxides including CoO, Bi 2 O 3, MnO 2, and Fe 3 O 4 as well as doped ones, opening up an opportunity to broaden the 2D nanomaterial family to functional oxides.

Source: Chemistry of Materials

DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b03307

Authors: Yizhan Wang, Yeqi Shi, Ziyi Zhang, Corey Carlos, Chenyu Zhang, Karishma Bhawnani, Jun Li, Jingyu Wang, Paul M. Voyles, Izabela Szlufarska, Xudong Wang

Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University, Division of Materials Research, Division of Chemistry, Army Research Office, Argonne National Laboratory

OpenAlex ID: W2979551878