A DNA-based 3D Nanofabrication for Surface Engineering
Abstract
The goal of this project is to develop a general approach to fabricatenanoscale 3D textured surfaces using 3D DNA nanostructure templates. With a coating of 3D nanostructure, a surface can exhibit favorable interfacial properties, such as superhydrophobicity, anti-fouling, and drag reduction. However, current approaches to produce such 3D nanostructures require multistep nanofabrication and often specific substrates (e.g., silicon). The proposed approach will produce complex 3D nanoscale patterns on surfaces in a single step and will be of low cost and scalable to large areas (> m2). Significance: While conventional nanofabrication excels at producing high quality 2D patterns, using it to produce 3D nanostructures is still a time-consuming process that typically involves multiple steps of 2D lithography patterning. In this regard, there are inherent advantages in using 3D DNA nanostructure as template for 3D nanofabrication. DNA nanostructures can be easily made into well-defined 3D shapes. DNA nanostructures are made by self-assembly and amendable to mass production. However, the weak chemical and mechanical stability of DNA has long been a bottleneck in the use of DNA nanostructure in 3D nanofabrication. This proposal will address such challenges by developing new chemistry-based methods to convert 3D DNA nanostructures into 3D inorganic nanostructure of the same topography. This work could enable new applications of DNA nanostructure in a wide range of research and engineering applications. This proposal will explore the use of DNA-templated nanoscale texture for controlling the wettability of surfaces and enhance their anti-fouling properties.Naval Relevance: Controlling the solid-water interfacial interaction is of fundamentalimportance to many areas of Navy interests, such as wetting, biofouling, and drag reduction. Robust super-hydrophobicity is key to high performance water repellant and anti-icing coatings. Biofouling is a major concern to fleet operation because it increases drag and fuel consumption. Current commercial antifouling coatings rely on releasing toxic compounds to kill fouling organisms, releasing large amount of toxin into the environment during its life cycle. The proposed research will offer a new approach to mass produce super-hydrophobic and anti-fouling surfaces using DNA nanostructure templates.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 26, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812555
Entities
People
- Haitao Liu
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Pittsburgh