Ice shaping properties, similar to that of antifreeze proteins, of a zirconium acetate complex.
The control of the growth morphologies of ice crystals is a critical issue in fields as diverse as biomineralization, medicine, biology, civil or food engineering. Such control can be achieved through the ice-shaping properties of specific compounds. The development of synthetic ice-shaping compounds is inspired by the natural occurrence of such properties exhibited by antifreeze proteins. We reveal how a particular zirconium acetate complex is exhibiting ice-shaping properties very similar to that of antifreeze proteins, albeit being a radically different compound. We use these properties as a bioinspired approach to template unique faceted pores in cellular materials. These results suggest that ice-structuring properties are not exclusive to long organic molecules and should broaden the field of investigations and applications of such substances.
Laboratoire de Synthèse et Fonctionnalisation des Céramiques, UMR3080 CNRS/Saint-Gobain, Cavaillon, France. sylvain.deville@saint-gobain.com
Sylvain
S
Deville
Céline
C
Viazzi
Jérôme
J
Leloup
Audrey
A
Lasalle
Christian
C
Guizard
Eric
E
Maire
Jérôme
J
Adrien
Laurent
L
Gremillard
D000085:Acetates / Q000737:chemistry*; D021301:Antifreeze Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization; D007053:Ice; D013535:Suspensions; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
D000085:Acetates; D021301:Antifreeze Proteins; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D007053:Ice; D013535:Suspensions; D015040:Zirconium