Methods, compositions, and biomimetic catalysts for in vitro synthesis of silica, polysilsequioxane, polysiloxane, and polymetallo-oxanes
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsDaniel E. Morse, Galen D. Stucky, Timothy D. Deming, Jennifer Cha, Katsuhiko Shimizu, Yan Zhou
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Abstract
Methods, compositions, and biomimetic catalysts, such as silicateins and block copolypeptides, used to catalyze and spatially direct the polycondensation of silicon alkoxides, metal alkoxides, and their organic conjugates to make silica, polysiloxanes, polymetallo-oxanes, and mixed poly(silicon/metalklo)oxane materials under environmentally benign conditions.
Claims46
A method for forming a dioxane, oligo-oxane, or polyoxane product, comprising condensing an alkoxide substrate with another alkoxide material at neutral or near neutral pH using a catalyst comprising a molecule having a nucleophilic group that displaces alkanol from said alkoxide substrate facilitating solvolysis to initiate structure-directed condensation with said another alkoxide.
A method for forming a dioxane, oligo-oxane, or polyoxane product, comprising condensing an alkoxide substrate with another alkoxide material at neutral or near neutral pH using a catalyst comprising a self-assembling molecule having a nucleophilic group that displaces alkanol from said alkoxide substrate by forming a transitory covalent intermediate facilitating solvolysis to initiate structure-directed condensation with said another alkoxide with structure-directing control of product formation resulting from a spatial array of structure-directing determinants contained on or within the self-assembling molecule acting in conjunction with the surfaces of any solid support to which said molecule is attached or in which said molecule is confined;
- said molecule being selected -from the group consisting essentially of silicatein, protein, enzyme, peptide, and non-peptide-based polymers, that operates by a mechanism of catalysis similar to that utilized by silicateins;
- and
- either or both of said alkoxides being selected from the group consisting of silicon or other metalloid alkoxides, metallo alkoxides, and organic conjugates of the foregoing, to form the corresponding silica, silsesquioxanes, polymetalloid-oxanes, polymetallo-oxanes, or the corresponding organic conjugates of the foregoing;
- wherein said product is a silsesquioxane, a polyorganosiloxane, a polymetallo-oxane, a polyorganometallo-oxane, a polymetalloid-oxane, or a polyorganometalloid-oxane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.