(41e) Bsmv As a Novel Biotemplate for Palladium Nanomaterial Synthesis and Mechanistic Comparisons

A new virus was applied to the synthesis of palladium nanorods using the hydrothermal synthesis. The Barley stripes mosaic virus (BSMV) was successfully used to produce metal nanorods of similar quality to those produced with the Wild type Tobacco mosaic virus (WtTMV). Biomineralization was characterized in terms of the adsorption, reduction (after decoupling), and nanocrystal formation processes. The BSMV surface-mediated reduction of Pd⁽²⁺⁾ proceeded via 1st order kinetics in both Pd⁽²⁺⁾ and BSMV. The adsorption equilibrium relationship of PdCl₃H₂O^- on the BSMV surface was described by a multi-step Langmuir isotherm suggesting alternative adsorbate-adsorbent interactions when compared to those on WtTMV. The total adsorption capacity of palladium species on BSMV is more than double of that on WtTMV. Finally, all length scales of the as-synthesized materials could be characterized in a statistically relevant way by combining ultra-small angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments and particle scattering models. Results confirm the presence of core-shell cylindrical particles with 1-2 nm grains. The materials synthesized were uniform and monodisperse, with controllable diameters and therefore, of comparable quality to those synthesized with WtTMV. Overall, BSMV has been confirmed as a viable and promising alternate biotemplate for biomineralization of inorganic materials. With this new virus, the biotemplating toolbox has been expanded for synthesis of new materials and comparative study of biomineralization processes.