Biomimetic Synthesis of Inorganic Nanospheres

The synthesis of silica, silver bromide, and composite nanospheres made in the presence of block copolypeptide vesicles is reported. Hollow silica nanospheres of controllable size can be made with Lys:Phe 1:1 block copolypeptides, whereas at higher block ratios, uniform silica nanospheres are formed that are not hollow. Silver bromide nanospheres of controllable size in the range of 25−250 nm can also be formed, as well as silver bromide/silica core−shell particles. The silver bromide nanospheres can also be assembled into hollow rods in the presence of rhodamine 6G, and this process is reversible. The unique feature of this work is the ability to translate the information of an individual biomimetic supramolecular structure (e.g., vesicle) as a template into an inorganic material. The results show that block copolypeptides offer unique opportunities for assembling nanostructured materials.