Ordered '3D-superlattice' oxide nanotubes with highly defined physical and selective chemical contrasts

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Patrik Schmuki
• Subject Area: Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials
• Term: from 2010 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 165727320

Over the past few years, the electrochemical growth of self-aligned TiO2 nanotube arrays has been intensively studied in the laboratory of the applicant, and a world-leading position in this field has been established in synthesis and application. It is now proposed to create a toolbox for entirely novel nanotubular architectures that allow a pre-designed creation of 3D nanoscale confinement and active size control within the tube wall - in particular:1) the formation of highly defined 3D superlattice nanotube structures to strongly modify the physical properties such as the electrical/optical character of the nanotube wall;2) the formation of nanotube structures with engineered (site specific) chemical contrasts to allow spatially, highly defined, (3D) anchoring points for chemical architectures and nano-channel flowthrough reactors.The approaches should lead to ordered nanotube architectures with precisely defined properties that can be allocated with nanoscale precision over the length of the nanotube. Tube walls can be (locally) modified to:- possess altered ionic, electric, or optical properties (band-gap engineering, mesomaterials), and nanoscale heterojunctions can be built into the tube walls (targeting applications, based on solarcell structures, insertion hosts, photocatalysis, or quantum size devices).- have spatially confined chemical contrasts that will create a platform to create local reactivity and build further molecular architectures, for example, for the handling of biological entities with corresponding dimensions, and for chemical properties including nanoscale-flow through (single photon) photoreactors or photoswitchable devices. Approaches are envisaged to develop single nanotubes as multifunctional platform unifying site selective biomedical docking, magnetic guiding and remote payload release properties.

• DFG Programme: Reinhart Koselleck Projects