Bioinspired functional materials through programmable self-assembly of organic semiconductor peptide hybrids
The proposed fundamental research project is located at the interface between (bio)organic synthetic chemistry, physical chemistry, and materials science and exploits self-assembling cyclic d,l-alternating peptides as scaffolds to establish tailored long-range order between organic electron donors and acceptors, enabling a new class of bioinspired materials. Selected cyclic peptides will be covalently functionalized with fine-tuned donor and acceptor moieties to adjust the extent of charge-transfer interactions within the self-assembled peptide nanotubes. The resulting materials shall provide for applications ranging from ferro- and piezoelectric functionality to photostriction and selective ion channels. The obtained fundamental results are expected to constitute a solid basis for translation into the hot areas of signal transduction and actuators in biologically relevant environments and soft robotics.
