Structure and photoelectrochemistry of a virus capsid-TiO2 nanocomposite.
The use of protein templates to direct the formation of inorganic nanostructures offers a novel bio-inspired route to nanomaterial synthesis that avoids the use of harsh reaction conditions and offers unique functionalities including biocompatibility and hierarchical assembly. Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis from total X-ray scattering has been used to determine the structure of TiO2 nanoparticles grown within an icosahedral virus capsid. The protein-TiO2 composites are similar to nanocrystalline anatase and show photocatalytic activity. PDF analysis is ideally suited to the study of protein-inorganic nanocomposites, and may be able to provide information about the hard/soft interface.
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
Craig
C
Jolley
Michael
M
Klem
Richard
R
Harrington
John
J
Parise
Trevor
T
Douglas
D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation / Q000528:radiation effects; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000379:methods; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium