Multi-dimensional architecture materials of amino acids and metal ions

Abstract

Herein, some novel structures were formed through the interaction of amino acid molecules and metal ions (Ag⁺, Cu²⁺ and Co²⁺) with the aid of anions. The amino acid molecule firstly formed coordination complexes with different metal ions and these coordination complexes became nucleation sites for primary crystals of the metal inorganic salt with the anion added. The complexes of amino acid molecules and metal inorganic salt crystals form elementary units of a multi-dimensional architecture according to a specific geometry, and these elementary units finally assembled into different multi-dimensional architectures through the function of anisotropic growth. The formation mechanism and formation process of the multi-dimensional structures were also studied through observing the morphology with increasing time. Among these multiple architectures, some exhibited high photo-catalytic activity, which might be of great interest for making an attempt at a photo-catalyst from the multiple amino acid architectures.