Mineralization from aqueous solutions of zinc salts directed by amino acids and peptides

The suitability of amino acids and dipeptides as structure-directing agents for the deposition of coatings from aqueous solutions of zinc salts is discussed. According to a bio-inspired approach, the influence of these biomolecules was investigated with respect to the evolution of architectures based on zinc oxide and basic zinc salts. The small molecules were able to trigger the morphology of these materials ranging from grainlike to two-dimensional up to three-dimensional features. Besides morphological aspects, the structural characterization of these solids by means of electron and atomic force microscopies, photoelectron and infrared spectroscopies, and X-ray diffraction are discussed in order to extract the function of the biomolecules with regard to the formation of the inorganic phases.