AbstractWithin this paper the suitability of amino acids and dipeptides as structure-directing agents is discussed. According to that bio-inspired approach these biomolecules were investigated with respect to the evolution of zinc oxide-based architectures. Those small molecules are able to trigger the morphology of these materials ranging from grain-like via two up to three dimensional features. Besides morphological aspects the structural characterization of these solids by means of electron and atomic force microscopy as well as by photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction are discussed in order to extract the function of the biomolecules with regard to the formation of the inorganic phases.
The Surface Composition of Amino Acid - KCl Solutions is pH-Dependent