Skeletons of Glass Sponges as a Substrate for Creating Functional Composite Organosilicon Materials

Alexandr A Karpenko,Anatoliy L Drozdov

doi:10.32732/jma.2019.8.1.20

Alexandr A Karpenko, Anatoliy L Drozdov

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.32732/jma.2019.8.1.20

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Abstract

The article describes a method of creating a three-dimensional organosilicon composite material based on the glass sponge spicules through a combination of soft etching and controlled mechanical action, non-destroying spicules. When in an alkaline medium, the material of the spicules’ outer concentric layers is dissolved and silica passes into solution. After 20 to 30 days in alkaline medium, the silica is in excess and precipitates on organic components, forming a network of 300–500-nm thick organosilicon trabeculae, by which the spicules are fused into a single structure. The resulting composite material contains a mineral component of silica and an organic component. The results indicate that the natural organosilicon material can be reformed as a result of self-assembly into three-dimensional or flat structures.

Highlights

The creation of new composite organosilicon materials with special physicochemical properties based on biomimetic approaches is actively discussed in scientific literature on materials science [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Biomimetics usually uses the principle of breaking up an object into component parts and their subsequent synthesis
The sponge has the appearance of fiberglass felt (Fig. 1). The spicules of this glass sponge are of different thickness and morphology; each of them is a system of concentric thin layers that are laid around a central cylinder containing a square channel (Fig. 2A)

Summary

Introduction

The creation of new composite organosilicon materials with special physicochemical properties based on biomimetic approaches is actively discussed in scientific literature on materials science [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The unique physical properties of the spicules of glass sponges attract researchers from different fields [7]. These sponges are capable of organizing nanoscale building blocks into large-scale hierarchical structures – solid spicules. It is tempting to create new structural and functional materials using the biomimetic approaches. It is believed that the more disassembly details there are and the cleaner the analyzed components are, the higher quality result one can achieve. This overlooks the destruction or elimination of some natural connections and structural features of the natural biocomposite. It is pertinent to mention here semiconductor technologies (impurity conductivity), alloys (alloying additives), glass production and ceramic materials, powder metallurgy

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