Bacteria that make carbon nanotubes

Chemists and engineers from the United States and South Korea have discovered some types of semiconductor nanotubes made from living organisms, bacteria - this discovery could help make a series of New nano electronic devices.

The team thinks that this is the first time nanotubes have been created by mechanisms of biology, rather than chemical reactions. It is open to the possibility of producing cheaper and completely environmentally friendly electronic materials.

The group consisting of Nosang V. Myung, associate professor of environmental engineering and engineering at the University of California, Riverside and his colleague, Dr. Bongyoung Yoo, discovered that Shewanella bacteria are able to support imaging. into arsenic-sulfide nanotubes , with physiological properties completely different from what chemical catalysts produce.

"We have shown that a vial of insects can also create useful nanostructures." Associate Professor Myung said. "Nanotubes are very interested in material science because their useful physicochemical properties can be completely generated by changing the diameter as well as the size of these tubes."

Shewanella bacteria are creating nanotubes.Fibers made from this biological mechanism can lead to a variety of forms of semiconductor production, with a small amount of clean and environmentally friendly energy.(Photo: Photonics.com )

All electronic devices used in the world today, from computers to solar cells, must be made through chemical processes. This stage requires a large amount of energy, and leaves many toxic substances when the main product is completed.Associate Professor Myung said that in parallel with the production of new materials, science and technology are also very interested in environmental and ecological factors when that product is created .

Two team members, Hor Gil and Ji-Hoon Lee from Gwangju Academy of Science and Technology, South Korea, first discovered the difference when they wanted to limit the poisoning of arsenic (arsenic). Using bacteria has the ability to minimize metal components. Myung, who has expertise in the field of electrification and synthesis, classified the anomalous results as a kind of nanomaterial.

Arsenic-sulfide active nanotubes are produced by bacteria that act as metals with unique electromagnetic and photoconductive properties. The researchers say that this feature will help create a new semiconductor potential in nanoelectronics and photovoltaic devices.

"Some problems have not been clarified, as the Shewanella bacteria contain a group of polysacarides, capable of producing paradigms for the formation of arsenic sulfide nanotubes," Myung said. There will be great applications and, more importantly, the understanding of the mechanism of a bacterium capable of producing nanotubes of cadmium sulfide or other key materials in semiconductor technology. 'This is just an initial but promising step for future discoveries and research.' He said: 'Each species in the Shewanella group may have unique abilities in the production of carbon nanotubes.'

The research team, including Myung, Yoo, Hur and Lee, all participated in research under the direction of Min-Gyu Kim, belonging to the Pohang accelerator room, South Korea; Jongsun Maeng and Takhee Lee from Gwangju Science and Technology Institute; Alice C. Dohnalkove and James K. Fredrickson, of the Northwest Pacific National Research Laboratory, Washington; and Michael J. Sadowsky from the University of Minnesota.

The defense center's initiative for nanomaterials at UC Riverside has sponsored Myung's research team. The results of the study will be published in the next week's issue.

Bunhia