Inspiring Order in Bioinspired "Green" Nanomaterials

This project aims to break new ground by drawing inspiration from nature to induce molecular-scale order in silica to design the next generation of materials for carbon capture. The inspiration comes from the process of biosilicification - the method by which marine organisms like diatoms and sponges produce their intricately beautiful silica-based shells at ambient conditions in mild aqueous solutions. Although bioinspired silica materials have been produced in the past, and are revolutionising the field of porous material discovery, they have not been able to yield pores with the high degree of order that is needed for carbon capture applications, where control over nanoscale interactions is crucial. To achieve this will require a profound understanding of the molecular driving forces for the onset of order in these materials.
Materials with ordered pores at the molecular level have long been at the forefront of developments in chemistry, physics, engineering and medical sciences. A particular type of such materials, ordered mesoporous silica (OMS), has shown tremendous potential for multiple applications, including carbon capture. Despite this promise, OMS have not yet been used in those real-life applications because their manufacture is too expensive, wasteful, and makes use of harsh conditions and chemicals that leave a large environmental footprint (i.e., it is not "green").
This project will create a new conceptual framework to design ordered mesoporous "green" silica (OMGS) materials with bespoke porosity using environmentally-friendly, scalable and economical synthesis by combining cutting-edge multi-scale modelling and bioinspired synthesis strategies. The introduction of multi-scale "reactive" models, i.e. models that can describe chemical reactions and map a wide range of time- and length-scales, into the manufacture cycle will signify a paradigm change. We will understand how the different components interact dynamically with each other during the process, and how order emerges from these interactions. This will allow us to inform the synthesis of new OMGS materials with optimal properties for capturing carbon dioxide from industrial flue gas streams. This research will thus contribute towards mitigating climate change on two different levels: i) reducing the environmental footprint of industrial manufacture processes; ii) lowering CO2concentrations in the atmosphere.