Functionalization of Diatom Biosilica and Morphologically Controlled Mineralization of Porous Hybrid Materials

本项目旨在开发硅藻与微孔材料（如沸石和金属有机框架）（区域选择性）功能化的方法。区域选择性可以例如通过利用和/或引入硅藻生物二氧化硅的化学组成（有机、无机）的局部差异来实现。微孔材料的功能化将产生分级孔系统，预期其在催化和吸附动力学中显示出改善的传质特性。这两个具有互补专长的申请团体的共同努力对这个项目至关重要。二氧化硅生物发生的工程化将通过培养条件的修改以及体外修改在体内进行。例如，计划将Al和Zn等"外来"元素插入生物二氧化硅中，并分析其空间分布。考虑到不同细胞壁区域之间的形态差异（例如，阀与腰带带），还将以区域选择性方式尝试官能化。计划中的工作重点是解决以下问题：如何将化学成分的变化引入硅藻生物硅中并用于混合材料设计？如何使用改性生物二氧化硅组成的（区域选择性）变化来使其与微孔材料杂交？生物硅基多孔杂化材料的结构、催化和物理吸附特性是什么？

The present project aims to develop methods for the (regioselective) functionalization of diatoms with microporous materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Regioselectivity could be achieved for example by exploitation and/or introduction of local differences in chemical composition (organic, inorganic) of diatom biosilica. Functionalization with microporous materials will create hierarchical pore systems which are expected to show improved mass transport characteristics in catalysis and adsorption kinetics. A joint effort of the two applicant groups with complementary expertise is essential for this project. Engineering of silica biogenesis will be performed in vivo by modification of cultivation conditions as well as in vitro modifications. For example, it is planned to insert “foreign” elements such as Al and Zn into the biosilica and to analyze their spatial distribution. Given the morphological differences between different cell wall regions (e.g., valves vs. girdle bands), functionalization will also be tried in a regioselective manner. The planned work is focused to address the following questions: How can variations in chemical composition be introduced into diatom biosilica and exploited for hybrid materials design? How can (regioselective) variations in the composition of modified biosilica be used to hybridize it with microporous materials? What are structural, catalytic, and physisorption properties of biosilica-based porous hybrid materials?