Programmable Anisotropy and Percolation in Supramolecular Patchy Particle Gels
| Autor: | David Mankus, Brian B. Lynch, Jan Ilavsky, Mehedi H Rizvi, Niels Holten-Andersen, Joseph B. Tracy, Jake Song, Gareth H. McKinley |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Quantitative Biology::Biomolecules
Range (particle radiation) Materials science Isotropy General Engineering General Physics and Astronomy Nanoparticle Percolation threshold 02 engineering and technology 010402 general chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 01 natural sciences 0104 chemical sciences Condensed Matter::Soft Condensed Matter Chemical physics Percolation Self-healing hydrogels Particle General Materials Science Self-assembly 0210 nano-technology |
| Zdroj: | ACS Nano. 14:17018-17027 |
| ISSN: | 1936-086X 1936-0851 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acsnano.0c06389 |
| Popis: | Patchy particle interactions are predicted to facilitate the controlled self-assembly and arrest of particles into phase-stable and morphologically tunable "equilibrium" gels, which avoids the arrested phase separation and subsequent aging that is typically observed in traditional particle gels with isotropic interactions. Despite these promising traits of patchy particle interactions, such tunable equilibrium gels have yet to be realized in the laboratory due to experimental limitations associated with synthesizing patchy particles in high yield. Here, we introduce a supramolecular metal-coordination platform consisting of metallic nanoparticles linked by telechelic polymer chains, which validates the predictions associated with patchy particle interactions and facilitates the design of equilibrium particle hydrogels through limited valency interactions. We demonstrate that the interaction valency and self-assembly of the particles can be effectively controlled by adjusting the relative concentration of polymeric linkers to nanoparticles, which enables the gelation of patchy particle hydrogels with programmable local anisotropy, morphology, and low mechanical percolation thresholds. Moreover, by crowding the local environment around the patchy particles with competing interactions, we introduce an independent method to control the self-assembly of the nanoparticles, thereby enabling the design of highly anisotropic particle hydrogels with substantially reduced percolation thresholds. We thus establish a canonical platform that facilitates multifaceted control of the self-assembly of the patchy nanoparticles en route to the design of patchy particle gels with tunable valencies, morphologies, and percolation thresholds. These advances lay important foundations for further fundamental studies of patchy particle systems and for designing tunable gel materials that address a wide range of engineering applications. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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