Graph Theoretical Engineering of Self-Assembled Biomimetic Nanocomposites

Biomimetic nanocomposites address the critical bottlenecks of modern technologies from energy storage to wearable devices because they combine multiple application-critical properties that were not available in materials before, exemplified by hard to reach combinations of mechanical toughness, electrical conductivity, optical transparency, and biological compatibility, while being structurally versatile and resource conscious. Their design is however slow and empirical. Since Leonardo Da Vinci engineering of biomimetic materials was based on replication of the geometry of molecules, tissues, and organisms found in biology using non-biological preparatory techniques. It is possible to transition from inexact approach of good-luck-based engineering of nanocomposites to purpose-driven biomimetic materials design using graph theoretical (GT) methodology. Furthermore, GT-based engineering enables one to transition from simple nanocomposites to those with complex multiscale architecture. The organization of biomimetic materials and structures was developed to assess complexity of self-assembled nanostructured particles. It was concomitantly extended to the composites from aramid nanofibers (ANFs) and nanoparticle-based gels. It was shown that mechanical, ion- and charge transport characteristics of these materials are directly related to GT-based structural parameters. Increase of complexity can be paralleled with the increase of combinations of different properties that require multiscale hierarchical organization, which will be established analyzing load-bearing and functional nanocomposites of iconic biomimetic nanocomposites, such as nacre and cartilage. Applications of biomimetic composites for energy, biomedical, and optoelectronic applications batteries will be discussed with particular emphasis for their implementation in energy technologies.<br/> <br/><b>References: </b><br/>Kotov, N.A.; et al Ultrathin graphite oxide-polyelectrolyte composites prepared by self-assembly. <i>Adv. Mater.</i>, <b>1996</b>, <i>8</i>, 637–641.<br/>W. Jiang, Z. et al, Emergence of Complexity in Hierarchically Organized Chiral Particles, Science, <b>2020</b>, 368, 6491, 642-648.<br/>Lizhi Xu, <i>et al</i> Water-Rich Biomimetic Composites with Abiotic Self-Organizing Nanofiber Network, <i>Adv. Mater.</i> <b>2018</b>, 30(1), 1703343. <br/>B.O. Tung, et al Dendrite-Suppressing Solid Ion Conductor From Aramid Nanofibers, <i>Nature Comm. </i><b>2015</b>, 6, 6152. <br/>H.Zhang, et al, Graph Theoretical Design of Biomimetic Aramid Nanofiber Nanocomposites as Insulation Coatings for Implantable Bioelectronics, <i>MRS Bulletin</i>, <b>2021</b>, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/s43577-021-00071-x#citeas<br/>&lt;!--![endif]----&gt;