Facile assembling method for coscinodiscus sp. diatom frustule monolayers towards controlled orientations

In recent years, diatom frustules have been used in many studies due to their excellent material properties. This study reports a novel method that assembles Coscinodiscus sp. (C. sp.) diatom frustules into monolayers. The method involves flushing diatom frustules on a silicon wafer's surface with water. Near-uniformly oriented monolayer regions were achieved with this method, and it was observed that their orientation was related to the water flow direction. Initial simulations were conducted to explain the observed phenomenon. The method introduced herein could potentially broaden diatom frustules' applications in engineering and enable studies on their collective properties.