Harvesting light like nature does

Nanowerk  May 15, 2021
Inspired by the formation of hierarchically structured natural biominerals (e.g., bone and tooth), various sequence-defined polymers have been synthesized and exploited for design and synthesis of functional hybrid materials. A team of researchers in the US (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State University) created an altered protein-like structure, called a peptoid, and attached a precise silicate-based cage-like structure to one end of it. They found that, under the right conditions, they could induce these molecules to self-assemble into perfectly shaped crystals of 2D nanosheets. It has the programmability of a protein-like synthetic molecule with the complexity of a silicate-based nanocluster. They programmed the material to create a highly efficient artificial light-harvesting system. The newly created system displayed an energy transfer efficiency of over 96%, making it one of the most efficient aqueous light-harvesting systems of its kind reported thus far. The enhanced properties and high programmability of this 2D hybrid material may have many applications…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE