Patent ID: 8865347

Claim:
A method of forming an alloy comprising: forming a plurality of biological templates by: (i) selecting a first peptide sequence that has a specific binding affinity for a first nanoparticle of a first material by evolutionary screening a plurality of peptide sequences; (ii) selecting a second peptide sequence that has a specific binding affinity for a second nanoparticle of a second material by evolutionary screening a plurality of peptide sequences; (iii) sequencing the first peptide sequence and the second peptide sequence; and (iv) genetically engineering the biological template to express first peptide sequences and the second peptide sequences in a number ratio of x:y (0<x<1, 0<y<1); binding the first nanoparticles to respective first peptide sequences; binding the second nanoparticles to respective second peptide sequences; and allowing the biological templates to aggregate into two-dimensional or three-dimensional structures such that the first nanoparticles of the first material and the second nanoparticles of the second material form the alloy as a continuous material having the first material and the second material by aggregating the biological templates into two-dimensional or three-dimensional structures, wherein the first material is a compound represented by A m B n , the second material is a compound represented by C p D q and the alloy can be represented by (A m B n ) x (C p D q ) y , wherein, each of A, B, C and D is independently an element of Groups IB, VIA and VIIIB of the Periodic Table; 0≦m≦1; 0≦n≦1; m+n=1; and 0≦p≦1; 0≦q≦1; and p+q=1, provided that m and n are not 0 at the same time, and p and q are not 0at the same time, and wherein A, B and C are different elements, D is the same as B, and the alloy is a ternary alloy.