Assembly of iron oxide nanosheets at the air–water interface by leucine–histidine peptides

The fabrication of inorganic nanomaterials is important for a wide range of disciplines. While many purely inorganic synthetic routes have enabled a manifold of nanostructures under well-controlled conditions, organisms have the ability to synthesize structures under ambient conditions. For example, magnetotactic bacteria, can synthesize tiny ‘compass needles’ of magnetite (Fe 3O 4). Here, we demonstrate the bio-inspired synthesis of extended, self-supporting, nanometer-thin sheets of iron oxide at the water-air interface through self-assembly using small histidine-rich peptides.