Self-assembled nanoparticle micro-shells templated by liquid crystal sorting.

Autor: Rodarte AL; Department of Physics, University of California, Merced, 5200 Lake Rd, Merced, CA95343, USA. lhirst@ucmerced.edu., Cao BH, Panesar H, Pandolfi RJ, Quint M, Edwards L, Ghosh S, Hein JE, Hirst LS
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Soft matter [Soft Matter] 2015 Mar 07; Vol. 11 (9), pp. 1701-7.
DOI: 10.1039/c4sm02326a
Abstrakt: A current goal in nanotechnology focuses on the assembly of different nanoparticle types into 3D organized structures. In this paper we report the use of a liquid crystal host phase in a new process for the generation of micron-scale vesicle-like nanoparticle shells stabilized by ligand-ligand interactions. The constructs formed consist of a robust, thin spherical layer, composed of closely packed quantum dots (QDs) and stabilized by local crystallization of the mesogenic ligands. Ligand structure can be tuned to vary QD packing within the shell and made UV cross-linkable to allow for intact shell extraction into toluene. The assembly method we describe could be extended to other nanoparticle types (metallic, magnetic etc.), where hollow shell formation is controlled by thermally sorting mesogen-functionalized nanoparticles in a liquid crystalline host material at the isotropic to nematic transition. This process represents a versatile method for making non-planar 3D nano-assemblies.
Databáze: MEDLINE