(321f) Surface Mineralization and Controlled Deposition of Biotemplated Palladium Nanorods Onto Gold Substrates

Certain innate properties of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) make it ideal as a biotemplate for nanoparticle formation.  Genetic modifications of the TMV coat proteins allow for an increase in the selective deposition and controlled growth of different metals onto the surface of the virus.  In the current process, TMV is coated with uniform layers of palladium metal particles in aqueous solution under very mild conditions producing nanowires of 300nm in length and 30-40nm in diameter.  In order to control the higher order assembly of these nanowires, the TMV is first deposited onto a substrate prior to coating.  This helps to limit the uncontrolled aggregation of individual nanorods and arrange the TMV into nanostructures to be used in multiple applications ranging from catalysts to sensors to battery electrodes and other nanoelectronic devices.  Varying the deposition pH, virus concentration, and substrate type can alter the aggregation and final orientation of the virus on the substrate surface.  After TMV deposition, the virus is coated with palladium in an aqueous solution without the addition of an external reducing agent to form uniform palladium nanowires.  Multiple characterization techniques are used to determine the consistency of the controlled orientation as well as the monodispersity of the nanowires.