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A Bioengineering Approach to the Production of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles


EMSL Project ID
4491

Abstract

Research will be performed that will use the biological protein ferritin as a precursor for the production of nano iron oxyhydroxide and iron particles supported on SiO2. The protein, which is an iron sequestration protein, has a shell that is roughly spherical with a 120 ? outer diameter and a 80 ? internal diameter. Roughly 80 ? diameter ferrihydrite (i.e., Fe(O)OH) particles will be grown within the shell in our laboratory in solution. The ferritin will be deposited on a SiO2 support, dried and subsequently exposed to oxygen in the presence of UV (i.e., ozone cleaning) to remove the protein shell. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) will be used to investigate the size and shapes of the resulting nano iron oxyhydroxide particles. The particles will then be reduced in H2 at elevated temperatures to produce iron metal nanoparticles and re-characterized.

Project Details

Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2003-11-07
End Date
2005-11-11
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Daniel Strongin
Institution
Temple University

Related Publications

DR Strongin, Elsetinow AR, MJ Borda, MA Schoonen, and KM Rosso. 2003. "Characterization of the Structure and the Surface Reactivity of a Marcasite Thin Film.." Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67(5):807-812.