Dynamic constitutional hybrid materials in which the functional self-organized macrocycles are reversibly connected with the inorganic silica mesopores through hydrophobic non-covalent interactions. Supramolecular columnar self-organized architectures confined within scaffolding hydrophobic silica mesopores can be structurally determined by using X-ray diffraction techniques.

Biological fabrication approaches were used to enhance the performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device stack for the conversion of light to electricity. Diatoms are single-celled algae that make silica shells called frustules that possess periodic structures ordered at the micro- and nanoscale. Nanostructured TiO2 was deposited onto the frustule biosilica of the diatom Pinnularia sp. Poly-L-lysine (PLL) conformally adsorbed onto surface of the frustule biosilica. The hydrolysis and condensation of soluble Ti-BALDH to TiO2 by PLL-adsorbed diatom biosilica deposited 0.77 ± 0.05 g TiO2/g SiO2 onto the diatom biosilica. The periodic pore array of the diatom frustule served as a template for the deposition of ˜20 nm TiO2 nanoparticles, which completely filled the 200 nm frustule pores and also coated the frustule outer surface. This material was then integrated into the DSSC device stack. Specifically, a single layer of diatom-TiO2 frustules was deposited to surface coverage 100μg/cm2 on top of the 25 nm anatase TiO2 nanocrystal layer (2.5 mg/cm2) that was doctor-bladed onto conductive FTO glass. The composite structure was thermally annealed in air at 400 °C, followed by addition of N719 dye, I3-/3I- liquid electrolyte, and semi-transparent Pt back electrode sputter coated on FTO glass. The solar cell efficiency increased from 0.20% to 0.70% when the diatom-TiO2 layer was added to anatase TiO2 base layer of the semi-transparent device. The increase in efficiency cannot be attributed solely to the added TiO2, because the amount of TiO2 in the diatom-TiO2 layer contributed to only 3% of the total TiO2 in the device. Instead, it is proposed that the diatom-TiO2 layer may have helped to improve photon capture within the DSSC because of its periodic structure and high dielectric contrast.

Magnetofluorescent hybrid nanoparticles consisting of Au layer, an iron oxide moiety, and fluorescent molecules could provide a promising platform for development of multimodal imaging and therapy approaches in the treatment of cancer. However, the feasibility of this platform has yet to be fully explored. In this study, we synthesized biocompatible dumbbell-like iron-gold hybrid particles that are superparamagnetic, fluorescent and with strong optical absorption. Furthermore, we showed that hybrid nanoparticles can be conjugated to targeting agents allowing for specific targeting of cancer cells.