bvcxzu+Sqwynthesis of Functional Composite Nanofibers Templated by 1D Self-assembly of Tobacco Mosaic Virus

智力优势：该项目开发了一种使用烟草花叶病毒(TMV)作为组装模板来构建复合纳米电线和纤维的方法。烟草花叶病毒是一种杆状病毒，在合适的pH和离子强度条件下，有头尾相连的倾向。因此，它作为形成高长径比和均匀直径的纳米线和/或纳米纤维的模板是很有吸引力的。在这项工作中，一些单体材料将被结合到TMV模板上，然后它们将被聚合成共价连接的导线和纤维。通过简单的有机碱苯胺的结合和聚合，验证了概念的正确性。其他建议的单体包括乙二氧基噻吩可望产生比聚苯胺高得多的电导率的聚合物。这种结构可能在构建纳米级电路和其他纳米设备方面有用。导电纤维(电线)并不是唯一被寻找的物种。例如，可以通过在温和的酸性条件下用正硅酸乙酯包覆TMV来制备纤维状无机结构，以产生长的二氧化硅/TMV复合纤维。由于可以制备具有多种化学和物理特性的有机和无机单体单元，人们有望获得具有所需电、光或磁性能的TMV模板化纤维。单体与模板的结合可以通过静电、氢键或其他力稳定，这取决于单体的性质。这项工作的主要重点将是了解控制各种单体类型沿TMV模板组装的基本因素。此外，还将利用显微镜、电导、X射线散射和纳米机械测量对聚合的纳米结构进行仔细的表征。BROADER Impact：一种廉价、通用的方法来制备具有所需的机械、化学和物理特性的纳米纤维和纳米线，有望在构建各种纳米器件方面具有广泛的适用性。该提案包括一项计划，通过为期一周的生物纳米技术暑期研讨会吸引高中生和大学生投身科学职业。它还为研究生和本科生的跨学科培养提供了一个平台。

INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This project develops a method for constructing composite nanoscale wires and fibers using tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as a template for assembly. TMV is a rod-like virus that has a tendency to undergo head-to-tail association under suitable conditions of pH and ionic strength. It is therefore attractive as a template for the formation of nanowires and/or nanofibers with a high aspect ratio and uniform diameter. In this work a number of monomeric materials will be caused to bind to the TMV template after which they will be polymerized into covalently linked wires and fibers. Proof of concept was demonstrated by binding and polymerizing the simple organic base aniline. Additional proposed monomers include ethylenedioxythiophene which can be expected to yield a polymer with considerably higher conductivity than polyaniline. Such structures could be useful in constructing nanoscale circuitry and other nanodevices. Conductive fibers (wires) are not the only species sought. Fiber-like inorganic structures can be prepared, for example, by coating TMV with tetraethoxysilane under mild acid conditions to produce long silica/TMV composite fibers. Because the organic and inorganic monomer units can be prepared with a variety of chemical and physical characteristics, one can hope to obtain TMV-templated fibers with desired electrical, optical, or magnetic properties. Binding of monomers to the template may be stabilized by electrostatic, hydrogen-bonded, or other forces, depending on the character of the monomer. The primary focus of the work will be to understand the fundamental factors that govern assembly of various monomer types along the TMV template. Significant attention will also be given to careful characterization of the polymerized nanostructures using microscopy, conductance, X-ray scattering, and nanomechanical measurements.BROADER IMPACTS: An inexpensive, general method for preparing nanofibers and nanowires possessing desired mechanical, chemical, and physical characteristics can be expected to have broad applicability for the construction of various nanodevices. The proposal includes a plan for attracting high school and university students into scientific careers through a week-long Summer Workshop for Bionanoparticle Technology. It also provides a platform for interdisciplinary training of graduate and undergraduate research students.