Two-stage photobioreactor process for the metabolic insertion of nanostructured germanium into the silica microstructure of the diatom Pinnularia sp.

Jeffryes, Clayton;Gutu, Timothy;Jiao, Jun;Rorrer, Gregory L.
(2008) Materials science & engineering c-biomimetic and supramolecular systems — Vol. 28, n° 1, p. 107-118 (2008)

Files

pdfdocument.pdf
  • Restricted Access
  • Adobe PDF
  • 3.04 MB
Request a copy

Details

Authors
  • Jeffryes, ClaytonUCLouvain
    Author
  • Gutu, Timothy
    Author
  • Jiao, Jun
    Author
  • Rorrer, Gregory L.
    Author
Abstract
There is significant interest in imbedding nanoscale germanium (Ge) into dielectric silica for optoelectronic applications. In this study, a bioreactor process was developed to metabolically insert nanostructured Ge into a patterned silica matrix of the diatom Pinnularia sp. at levels ranging from 0.24 to 0.97 wt.% Ge. In Stage I, the diatom cell culture was grown up to silicon starvation. In Stage II, soluble silicon and germanium were co-fed to the silicon-starved culture to promote one cell division during Ge uptake. In Stage II, soluble Si and Ge were transported into the silicon-starved diatom cell by a surge uptake process, and Ge uptake preceded its incorporation into the frustule. STEM-EDS line scans of the frustule in the newly-divided cells revealed that the Ge was uniformly incorporated into the biosilica. The overall shape of the new frustule was intact, but Si-Ge oxides filled the frustule areolae and altered their nanoscale pore size and geometry. Ge-rich pockets imbedded within the silica frustule and Ge-rich nanoparticles littering the frustule surface were also found. These results suggest that a two-stage diatom cultivation process can biologically fabricate and self-assemble new types of Ge-Si nanocomposite hierarchical materials that possess intricate submicron features. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Affiliations

Citations

  • APA
  • Chicago
  • FWB

Jeffryes, C., Gutu, T., Jiao, J., & Rorrer, G. L. (2008). Two-stage photobioreactor process for the metabolic insertion of nanostructured germanium into the silica microstructure of the diatom Pinnularia sp. Materials science & engineering c-biomimetic and supramolecular systems, 28(1), 107-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2007.01.002 (Original work published 2008)