Mater. Horiz., 2019, 6, 2040-2046 doi: 10.1039/C9MH00580C
Jebors S, Valot L, Echalier C, Legrand L, Mikhaleff R,Van Der Lee A, Arenal R, Dumy P, Amblard M, Martinez J, Mehdi A and Subra G.
Abstract
Self-mineralization of a trialkoxysilyl hybrid peptide yields in a single step a nanostructured hybrid material. A bis-silylated pseudodipeptide inspired from the Phe–Phe dipeptide was used to program the assembly by sol–gel polymerization under heterogeneous conditions, in water at pH 1.5 without any structure-directing agent. A mechanism deciphering the hybrid material assembly was proposed thanks to 1H NMR spectroscopy. First, water-insoluble hybrid building blocks were hydrolysed into their soluble silanol counterparts. Then, these transitional species, thanks to hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking, self-assembled in solution. Last, the proximity of the silanol moieties favoured their polycondensation into growing siloxane oligomers, which spontaneously precipitated to produce an ordered hybrid material.
