Synthetic nacre by predesigned matrix-directed mineralization.

Although biomimetic designs are expected to play a key role in exploring future structural materials, facile fabrication of bulk biomimetic materials under ambient conditions remains a major challenge. Here, we describe a mesoscale "assembly-and-mineralization" approach inspired by the natural process in mollusks to fabricate bulk synthetic nacre that highly resembles both the chemical composition and the hierarchical structure of natural nacre. The millimeter-thick synthetic nacre consists of alternating organic layers and aragonite platelet layers (91 weight percent) and exhibits good ultimate strength and fracture toughness. This predesigned matrix-directed mineralization method represents a rational strategy for the preparation of robust composite materials with hierarchically ordered structures, where various constituents are adaptable, including brittle and heat-labile materials.

In situ growth of matchlike ZnO/Au plasmonic heterostructure for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting.

In this paper, we report a novel matchlike zinc oxide (ZnO)/gold (Au) heterostructure with plasmonic-enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity for solar hydrogen production. The matchlike heterostructure with Au nanoparticles coated on the tip of ZnO nanorods is in situ grown on a zinc (Zn) substrate by using a facile hydrothermal and photoreduction combined approach. This unique heterostructure exhibits plasmonic-enhanced light absorption, efficient charge separation and transportation properties with tunable Au contents. The photocurrent density of the matchlike ZnO/Au heterostructure reaches 9.11 mA/cm(2) at an applied potential of 1.0 V (vs Ag/AgCl) with an Au/Zn atomic ratio of 0.039, which is much higher than that of the pristine ZnO nanorod array (0.33 mA/cm(2)). Moreover, the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of this special heterostructure can reach 0.48%, 16 times higher than that of the pristine ZnO nanorod array (0.03%). What is more, the efficiency could be further improved by optimizing the Au content of the heterostructure. The formation mechanism of such a unique heterostructure is proposed to explain the plasmonic-enhanced PEC performance. This study might contribute to the rational design of the visible-light-responsive plasmonic semiconductor/metal heterostructure photoanode to harvest the solar spectrum.

Bio-inspired in situ growth of monolayer silver nanoparticles on graphene oxide paper as multifunctional substrate.

In this study, we report a facile bio-inspired method for large-scale preparation of highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of flexible reduced graphene oxide (rGO) paper with using dopamine (DA) both as a reductant and a surface modifier. Through the self-polymerization of dopamine, free-standing GO paper can be simultaneously reduced and modified with following in situ growth of monolayer Ag NPs on such a substrate. The spherical Ag NPs with an average diameter of 80 nm have a narrow size distribution and tunable cover density. Such a flexible rGO/Ag hybrid paper presents enhanced antibacterial activity against E. coli and a high active and sensitive SERS response toward Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules. The detection signals can be obtained while the R6G concentration is as low as to 10(-8) M. This work provides a simple strategy for large-scale fabrication of monolayer Ag NPs on flexible rGO paper as a portable antibacterial substrate and a potential SERS substrate for molecular detection applications.

Rapid synthesis of flower-like Cu2O architectures in ionic liquids by the assistance of microwave irradiation with high photochemical activity.

A novel and facile protocol for the rapid synthesis of flower-like Cu(2)O architectures is reported in the presence of ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM]BF(4)) with the assistance of microwave irradiation. The hierarchical structures are assembled from many thin nanosheets with tunable sizes by adjusting the amount of [BMIM]BF(4) in the reaction solution. Noticeably, the flower-like Cu(2)O architectures present a high surface area of 65.77 cm(2) g(-1) with a band gap of about 2.25 eV, and exhibit high and stable photochemical activity for the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) under visible light irradiation. A reasonable model of an absorption and diffusion-limited aggregation process is proposed for explaining the possible formation mechanism of the flower-like Cu(2)O. The approach described in this study provides a feasible and rapid method to synthesize flower-like Cu(2)O with a hierarchical structure that is ready for application in the fields of photocatalytic hazard pollutants.

Biogenic synthesis of calcium oxalate crystal by reaction of calcium ions with spinach lixivium.

In this paper, we report a biogenic synthesis protocol for preparation of calcium oxalate (CaC2O4, CaOx) crystal at room temperature by a simple protein-mediated reaction of aqueous Ca2+ ions with the C2O4(2-) ions spontaneously released from spinach. The aggregation of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) and calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) with a rod-like morphology was mainly formed in the spinach root lixivium, and the proportion of COM crystal in the aggregation increased with the concentration of Ca2+ ions increasing, however, spindle-shaped crystal was mainly obtained in the spinach leaf lixivium and the content of COM in the product was higher than that obtained in the root lixivium with the similar concentration of Ca2+ ions. COM phase disappeared and only COD crystal with morphology of tetragonal bipyramidal prisms presented in the product when the leaf lixivium was replaced by the leaf broth. The biomolecules such as proteins with molecular weight of 31kDa liberated from the spinach root are negative-charged, which played important roles for the control of CaOx crystal growth in the root lixivium corresponding to the changes of protein secondary structures after reaction with Ca2+ ions. This research was potentially important for unraveling the biomineralization mechanism of CaOx crystal.