Future Now
The IFTF Blog
"Biomicry, algae shells, and nanoelectronics"
"In an elegant bit of biomimicry, chemical engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have transformed the amazingly intricate shells of diatoms, single-celled algae, into possible components for nanoscale electronic devices. In the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology, researcher Kenneth Sandhage and his colleagues outline a technique to coat the diatom shells with electricity conductors such as titanium dioxide. Another method they devised uses the shell as a template to fabricate an entirely synthetic structure. The complex shapes could someday enable the fabrication of 3D chip designs that can pack in many more transistors than the "flat" integrated circuits manufactured using today's photolithography methods. From New Scientist:
Sandhage's colleagues are already learning about how diatoms' genes determine their shape, with the hope of allowing engineers to design diatoms to their own specifications...
Meanwhile, Sandhage has already developed a couple of uses for his new structures, including using materials that catalyze chemical reactions as the coating for diatoms. The large ratio of surface area-to-volume in structures based on diatoms makes them into ideal catalysts when floating free in a solution, Sandhage says.
He has used catalyst-coated diatoms to destroy pesticides, a technique that might eventually be used to prevent the runoff of dangerous chemicals into streams and groundwater. He has also made photo-luminescent structures by coating diatoms with materials that glow under certain wavelengths of light. The structures could one day be used in computer displays.