Controlled self-assembly of chemical gardens enables fabrication of heterogeneous chemobrionic materials.

ABSTRACT: Chemical gardens are an example of a chemobrionic system that typically result in abiotic macro-, micro- and nano- material architectures, with formation driven by complex out-of-equilibrium reaction mechanisms. From a technological perspective, controlling chemobrionic processes may hold great promise for the creation of novel, compositionally diverse and ultimately, useful materials and devices. In this work, we engineer an innovative custom-built liquid exchange unit that enables us to control the formation of tubular chemical garden structures grown from the interface between calcium loaded hydrogel and phosphate solution. We show that systematic displacement of phosphate solution with water (H₂O) can halt self-assembly, precisely control tube height and purify structures in

SUBMITTER: Hughes EAB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9814108 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature