Industrial production of nanomaterials often utilises harsh conditions and/or produce toxic wastes. In contrast, biological organisms are able to produce ornate and hierarchical biominerals, yet under physiological conditions. Learning and inspiring from biological minerals, we have developed green chemistries for the controlled synthesis of silicon-based materials. This contribution will present an overview of such bioinspired technologies, and in addition, demonstrate their potential upon combining with flow chemistry / continuous manufacturing. Furthermore, it will be shown how these emerging technologies are versatile in replacing existing methods by considering the preparation and performance of silicon-based materials in selected applications including catalysis, biocatalysis, environmental remediation and drug delivery.

Silicon biocatalysis: Applications of biological and bioinspired silica

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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