Pd(II)-chitosan composite nanofibres of 62 ± 9 nm diameter are efficient catalysts for Heck cross-coupling reactions. Using a model reaction of iodo-benzene and n-butyl acrylate, we demonstrate that this material can be used as a recyclable catalytic support with a very low loading of palladium (0.17 mol% Pd).

Spatiotemporal control of peptide nanofibre growth was achieved by photocleavage of a DNA-conjugated β-sheet forming peptide that is linked through a photoresponsive amino acid residue. Peptide nanofibres were selectively formed by photocleaving the conjugate on a complementary DNA-immobilised glass substrate.

Abstract Fertilisers are essential in modern agriculture to enhance plant growth, crop production and product quality. Recent research has focused on the development of delivery systems designed prolong fertiliser release. This study introduces a new technology encapsulate release molecules fertilisers by using multi-layered electrospun nanofibre as carrier. Single-layer poly L-lactic acid (PLL...

Exploiting the concepts learnt from nature to build new nanomaterials from the bottom up is critical for the efficient design of complex nanodevices. We demonstrate for the first time that the capacity of the α-synuclein protein to assemble into nanofibres can be used for the synthesis of metallic nanowires. Silver and platinum nanowires with controlled diameters, ranging from 15 to 125 nm, hav...