Issue 36, 2022

Oriented attachment and aggregation as a viable pathway to self-assembled organic/inorganic hybrid materials

Abstract

Organic–inorganic composite materials with tailored properties can be designed in the lab through bio-inspired approaches. In this context, we exploited the particle-based crystallisation process of calcium sulfate, a technologically important mineral, to hybridise inorganic and organic matter. We identified and synthesised an organic polymer showing strong affinity to bind to the surfaces of mineral precursors as well as intrinsic tendency to self-organise. Subsequently, polymer-coated building units were allowed to self-assemble via oriented attachment, aggregation and phase transformation, which produced ordered superstructures where the organic polymer is intercalated between the subunits and surrounds the hybrid core as a shell. This specific architecture across multiple length scales leads to unique mechanical properties, comparable to those of natural biominerals. Thus, our results devise a straightforward pathway to prepare organic–inorganic hybrid structures via bottom-up self-assembly processes innate to the crystallisation of the inorganic phase. This approach can likely be transferred to other inorganic minerals, affording next-generation materials for applications in the construction sector, biomedicine and beyond.

Graphical abstract: Oriented attachment and aggregation as a viable pathway to self-assembled organic/inorganic hybrid materials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Kul 2022
Accepted
23 Mha 2022
First published
23 Mha 2022

CrystEngComm, 2022,24, 6320-6329

Oriented attachment and aggregation as a viable pathway to self-assembled organic/inorganic hybrid materials

U. Tritschler, J. M. Delgado López, T. R. Umbach, A. E. S. Van Driessche, H. Schlaad, H. Cölfen and M. Kellermeier, CrystEngComm, 2022, 24, 6320 DOI: 10.1039/D2CE00447J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements