This grant is for research in the fabrication of arrays of inorganic nanostructures with prescribed three-dimensional shapes using DNA crystals with programmable three-dimensional cavities as "molds". The key innovation in this work is to develop a general platform to enable the use of micron-scale porous DNA crystals as templates to control both the shape and the architectural arrangements for inorganic materials. DNA crystals with prescribed three-dimensional cavities will be assembled in one-pot or one-reactor reactions. The cavities will serve as nano-molds, and the subsequent in-situ casting of metal structures within the mold cavities will produce metal particles of prescribed shapes, and importantly, these particles will be arranged with 3 nm precision over micron-scales.
The results of this research will provide a mass production methodology for metal nanostructure arrays with prescribed morphologies and with sub-10 nm fabrication resolution and 3 nm positioning precision. This will provide a generalizable platform for the nanofabrication of inorganic materials, and, in turn, enable diverse transformative applications in fields ranging from bio-sensing to energy storage and photonics. For example, the metal particle arrays could serve as an enabling platform for developing highly sensitive and multiplexed (multiple signals) biosensor arrays to detect biomedically relevant targets. The precise control of electronic junction composition, orientation, and spacing of the metal structures could facilitate high photo-conversion efficiency in photovoltaics.
