(324b) Room Temperature-Nanoparticle Synthesis Using Ring-Structured Peptide Assemblies as Templates

Synthesis of designer nanomaterial is emerging as a crucial technology in nanotechnology to develop building blocks for nano/micrometer scale devices. However, a synthesis method to simultaneously control the dimension and crystalline structure of nanomaterials with low energy consumption has not been explored extensively yet. Exploiting biofunctionality that regulates the nanomaterial structure and shape is a novel approach to prepare the designer nanomaterials at ambient conditions. We developed ring-structured biotemplates that were self-assembled from synthetic peptide derivatives and organic/inorganic metal precursors. The ring-shaped peptide self-assemblies played both biomimetic function and template roles in nanoparticle synthesis, which resulted in formation of monodisperse nanoparticles with the controlled crystalline structure at room temperature. Various conducting and semiconducting nanoparticles were prepared from gold, barium titanate, and gallium precursors and the pH effects on product nanoparticle size were investigated. The nanoparticle synthesis using self-assemblies of peptides is advantageous comparing to the conventional high temperature synthetic methods since it conducted under mild experimental conditions, such as room temperature, with low production cost and facilities. In addition, it can prevent the deformation of crystalline structure by preventing the thermal stress in the synthetic process. This biotemplate approach utilizing the biomimetic functionality will provide a new route for the novel nanomaterial synthesis.