@article{Wysokowski2015, 
author = {Marcin Wysokowski and Mykhailo Motylenko and Jan Beyer and Anna Makarova and Hartmut Stöcker and Juliane Walter and Roberta Galli and Sabine Kaiser and Denis Vyalikh and Vasilii V. Bazhenov and Iaroslav Petrenko and Allison L. Stelling and Serguei L. Molodtsov and Dawid Stawski and Krzysztof J. Kurzydłowski and Enrico Langer and Mikhail V. Tsurkan and Teofil Jesionowski and Johannes Heitmann and Dirk C. Meyer and Hermann Ehrlich},
title = {Extreme biomimetic approach for developing novel chitin-GeO2 nanocomposites with photoluminescent properties},
year = {2015},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {8},
number = {7},
pages = {2288-2301},
keywords = {extreme biomimetics, chitin–GeO2, photoluminescence, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-015-0739-5},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-015-0739-5},
abstract = {This work presents an extreme biomimetics route for the creation of nanostructured biocomposites utilizing a chitinous template of poriferan origin. The specific thermal stability of the nanostructured chitinous template allowed for the formation under hydrothermal conditions of a novel germanium oxide-chitin composite with a defined nanoscale structure. Using a variety of analytical techniques (FTIR, Raman, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, EDS-mapping, selected area for the electron diffraction pattern (SAEDP), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)), we showed that this bioorganic scaffold induces the growth of GeO2 nanocrystals with a narrow (150–300 nm) size distribution and predominantly hexagonal phase, demonstrating the chitin template's control over the crystal morphology. The formed GeO2–chitin composite showed several specific physical properties, such as a striking enhancement in photoluminescence exceeding values previously reported in GeO2-based biomaterials. These data demonstrate the potential of extreme biomimetics for developing new-generation nanostructured materials.}
}