1
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Zou R, Li H, Shi J, Sun C, Lu G, Yan X. Dual-enhanced enzyme cascade hybrid hydrogel for the construction of optical biosensor. Biosens Bioelectron 2024; 263:116613. [PMID: 39084044 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2024.116613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
The biomimetic enzyme cascade system plays a key role in biosensing as a sophisticated signal transduction and amplification strategy. However, constructing a regulated enzyme cascade sensing system remains challenging due to the mismatch of multiple enzyme activities and poor stability. Herein, we design an efficient dual-enhanced enzyme cascade hybrid system (UFD-DEC) containing DNA-controlled nanozymes (Fe-cdDNA) and enzyme (urease) via combining the electrostatic contact effect with the hydrogel-directed confinement effect. Precise modulation of Fe-cdDNA nanozyme by DNA offers a means to control its catalytic efficiency. This regulated UFD-DEC system accelerates the reaction rate and provides remarkable stability compared with the free enzyme system. Benefiting from the plasticity properties of hydrogels, a "lab-in-a-tube" platform was constructed by encapsulating UFD-DEC in a microcentrifuge tube. Such a UFD-DEC-based hydrogel tube exhibits sufficient adaptability to profile urea when used in conjunction with a smartphone-assisted image processing algorithm, which on-site delivers urea information with a detection limit of 0.12 mmol L-1. This customizable and inexpensive miniaturized biosensor platform for monitoring urea may facilitate point-of-care testing applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiqi Zou
- Department of Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, PR China
| | - Hongxia Li
- Department of Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, PR China.
| | - Junxiao Shi
- Department of Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, PR China
| | - Chunyan Sun
- Department of Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, PR China
| | - Geyu Lu
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Gas Sensors, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, PR China
| | - Xu Yan
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Gas Sensors, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, PR China.
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2
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Knapp TV, Hasan MR, Niebuur BJ, Widmer-Cooper A, Kraus T. Stabilization of Apolar Nanoparticle Dispersions by Molecular Additives. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:13527-13537. [PMID: 38889250 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c00996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
We study the effect of additives on the colloidal stability of alkanethiol-coated gold nanoparticles. Cyclic amines and sulfides of different sizes were added to dispersions in decane at additive concentrations below 128 mM. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicated that tetrahydrothiophene reduced the agglomeration temperature, Tagglo, by up to 29 °C, a considerable increase in colloidal stability. Amines had a much weaker stabilizing effect of up to 2.5 °C. We found an unexpected maximum of stabilization for low additive concentrations, where Tagglo increased at concentrations above 64 mM. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to correlate these observations with the ligand shell structure. They excluded the physisorption of additives as a stabilization mechanism and suggested that sulfides replace hexadecanethiol on the AuNP surfaces by chemisorption. This hinders ligand ordering, thereby reducing Tagglo, which explains the stabilizing effect. Clustering of chemisorbed additive molecules at high concentration restabilized the ligand ordered state, explaining the detrimental effect of higher additive concentrations. The predictions of the simulations were confirmed by using thermogravimetric analyses and SAXS measurements of washed samples that indicated that the structure of the ligand shell itself, not the presence of physisorbed additives, changes Tagglo. Finally, we calculated potentials of mean force, which show that larger sulfide-based additives have a weaker affinity for the gold surface than smaller ones due to stronger steric hindrance. This explains why smaller cyclic sulfides were the most efficient stabilizers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mohammad Rashedul Hasan
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Bart-Jan Niebuur
- INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Asaph Widmer-Cooper
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- The University of Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Tobias Kraus
- INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Saarland University, Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
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3
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Upah A, Thomas A, Hallstrom J, Travesset A. High-Precision Calculation of Nanoparticle (Nanocrystal) Potentials of Mean Force and Internal Energies. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:1559-1567. [PMID: 37956245 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Thermodynamic stability assessment of nanocrystal systems requires precise free energy calculations. This study highlights the importance of meticulous control over various factors, including the thermostat, time step, potential cutoff, initial configuration, sampling method, and overall simulation duration. Free energy computations in dry (solvent-free) systems are on the order of several hundred kBT but can be obtained with consistent accuracy. However, calculation of internal energies becomes challenging, as they are typically much larger in magnitude than free energies and exhibit significant noise and reduced reliability. To address this limitation, we propose a new internal energy estimate that drastically reduces the noise. We also present formulas that enable the optimization of the parameters of the harmonic bias potential for optimal convergence. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for the computation of free energies in nanocrystal clusters and superlattices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Upah
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Andrew Thomas
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Jonas Hallstrom
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
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4
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Waltmann C, Kennedy NW, Mills CE, Roth EW, Ikonomova SP, Tullman-Ercek D, Olvera de la Cruz M. Kinetic Growth of Multicomponent Microcompartment Shells. ACS NANO 2023; 17:15751-15762. [PMID: 37552700 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c03353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
An important goal of systems and synthetic biology is to produce high value chemical species in large quantities. Microcompartments, which are protein nanoshells encapsulating catalytic enzyme cargo, could potentially function as tunable nanobioreactors inside and outside cells to generate these high value species. Modifying the morphology of microcompartments through genetic engineering of shell proteins is one viable strategy to tune cofactor and metabolite access to encapsulated enzymes. However, this is a difficult task without understanding how changing interactions between the many different types of shell proteins and enzymes affect microcompartment assembly and shape. Here, we use multiscale molecular dynamics and experimental data to describe assembly pathways available to microcompartments composed of multiple types of shell proteins with varied interactions. As the average interaction between the enzyme cargo and the multiple types of shell proteins is weakened, the shell assembly pathway transitions from (i) nucleating on the enzyme cargo to (ii) nucleating in the bulk and then binding the cargo as it grows to (iii) an empty shell. Atomistic simulations and experiments using the 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartment system demonstrate that shell protein interactions are highly varied and consistent with our multicomponent, coarse-grained model. Furthermore, our results suggest that intrinsic bending angles control the size of these microcompartments. Overall, our simulations and experiments provide guidance to control microcomparmtent size and assembly by modulating the interactions between shell proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curt Waltmann
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Nolan W Kennedy
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Carolyn E Mills
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Eric W Roth
- Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimentation Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Svetlana P Ikonomova
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Danielle Tullman-Ercek
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Monica Olvera de la Cruz
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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5
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Eygeris Y, Wang Q, Görke M, Grünwald M, Zharov I. Temperature-Responsive Nanoporous Membranes from Self-Assembly of Poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) Hairy Nanoparticles. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023. [PMID: 37285651 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c05072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Nanoporous membranes play a critical role in numerous separations on laboratory and industrial scales, ranging from water treatment to biotechnology. However, few strategies exist that allow for the preparation of mechanically robust nanoporous membranes whose separation properties can be easily tuned. Here, we introduce a new family of tunable nanoporous membranes based on nanoparticles decorated with temperature-responsive polymer brushes. We prepared mechanically robust membranes from hairy nanoparticles (HNPs) carrying PNIPAM polymer brushes. We assembled the HNPs into thin films through pressure-driven deposition of nanoparticle suspensions and measured the permeability and filtration cutoff of these membranes at different temperatures. The membrane pore diameter at room temperature varied between 10 and 30 nm depending on the polymer length. The water permeability of these membranes could be controlled by temperature, with the effective pore diameter increasing by a factor of 3-6 (up to 100 nm) when the temperature was increased to 60 °C. The size selectivity of these membranes in the filtration of nanoparticles could also be attenuated by temperature. Molecular dynamics computer simulations of a coarse-grained HNP model show that temperature-sensitive pores sizes are consistent with our experimental results and reveal the polymer configurations responsible for the observed filtration membrane permeability. We expect that these membranes will be useful for separations and in the preparation of responsive microfluidic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulia Eygeris
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Qiaoyi Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Marion Görke
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Michael Grünwald
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Ilya Zharov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
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6
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Hallstrom J, Cherniukh I, Zha X, Kovalenko MV, Travesset A. Ligand Effects in Assembly of Cubic and Spherical Nanocrystals: Applications to Packing of Perovskite Nanocubes. ACS NANO 2023; 17:7219-7228. [PMID: 37040619 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c10079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
We establish the formula representing cubic nanocrystals (NCs) as hard cubes taking into account the role of the ligands and describe how these results generalize to any other NC shapes. We derive the conditions under which the hard cube representation breaks down and provide explicit expressions for the effective size. We verify the results from the detailed potential of mean force calculations for two nanocubes in different orientations as well as with spherical nanocrystals. Our results explicitly demonstrate the relevance of certain ligand conformations, i.e., "vortices", and show that edges and corners provide natural sites for their emergence. We also provide both simulations and experimental results with single component cubic perovskite nanocrystals assembled into simple cubic superlattices, which further corroborate theoretical predictions. In this way, we extend the Orbifold Topological Model (OTM) accounting for the role of ligands beyond spherical nanocrystals and discuss its extension to arbitrary nanocrystal shapes. Our results provide detailed predictions for recent superlattices of perovskite nanocubes and spherical nanocrystals. Problems with existing united atom force fields are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Hallstrom
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Ihor Cherniukh
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, CH-8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland
| | - Xun Zha
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Maksym V Kovalenko
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, CH-8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
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7
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Petersen N, Girard M, Riedinger A, Valsson O. The Crucial Role of Solvation Forces in the Steric Stabilization of Nanoplatelets. NANO LETTERS 2022; 22:9847-9853. [PMID: 36493312 PMCID: PMC9801426 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c02848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The steric stability of inorganic colloidal particles in an apolar solvent is usually described in terms of the balance between three contributions: the van der Waals attraction, the free energy of mixing, and the ligand compression. However, in the case of nanoparticles, the discrete nature of the ligand shell and the solvent has to be taken into account. Cadmium selenide nanoplatelets are a special case. They combine a weak van der Waals attraction and a large facet to particle size ratio. We use coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations of nanoplatelets in octane to demonstrate that solvation forces are strong enough to induce the formation of nanoplatelet stacks and by that have a crucial impact on the steric stability. In particular, we demonstrate that for sufficiently large nanoplatelets, solvation forces are proportional to the interacting facet area, and their strength is intrinsically tied to the softness of the ligand shell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanning Petersen
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz D-55128, Germany
| | - Martin Girard
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz D-55128, Germany
| | | | - Omar Valsson
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz D-55128, Germany
- Department
of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76201, United States
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8
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Gentili D, Ori G. Reversible assembly of nanoparticles: theory, strategies and computational simulations. NANOSCALE 2022; 14:14385-14432. [PMID: 36169572 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr02640f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The significant advances in synthesis and functionalization have enabled the preparation of high-quality nanoparticles that have found a plethora of successful applications. The unique physicochemical properties of nanoparticles can be manipulated through the control of size, shape, composition, and surface chemistry, but their technological application possibilities can be further expanded by exploiting the properties that emerge from their assembly. The ability to control the assembly of nanoparticles not only is required for many real technological applications, but allows the combination of the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles and opens the way to the exploitation of their complex interplay, giving access to collective properties. Significant advances and knowledge gained over the past few decades on nanoparticle assembly have made it possible to implement a growing number of strategies for reversible assembly of nanoparticles. In addition to being of interest for basic studies, such advances further broaden the range of applications and the possibility of developing innovative devices using nanoparticles. This review focuses on the reversible assembly of nanoparticles and includes the theoretical aspects related to the concept of reversibility, an up-to-date assessment of the experimental approaches applied to this field and the advanced computational schemes that offer key insights into the assembly mechanisms. We aim to provide readers with a comprehensive guide to address the challenges in assembling reversible nanoparticles and promote their applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Gentili
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (CNR-ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy.
| | - Guido Ori
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, Rue du Loess 23, F-67034 Strasbourg, France.
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9
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Elimelech O, Aviv O, Oded M, Peng X, Harries D, Banin U. Entropy of Branching Out: Linear versus Branched Alkylthiols Ligands on CdSe Nanocrystals. ACS NANO 2022; 16:4308-4321. [PMID: 35157440 PMCID: PMC8945696 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c10430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Surface ligands of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) play key roles in determining their colloidal stability and physicochemical properties and are thus enablers also for the NCs flexible manipulation toward numerous applications. Attention is usually paid to the ligand binding group, while the impact of the ligand chain backbone structure is less discussed. Using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), we studied the effect of structural changes in the ligand chain on the thermodynamics of the exchange reaction for oleate coated CdSe NCs, comparing linear and branched alkylthiols. The investigated alkylthiol ligands differed in their backbone length, branching position, and branching group length. Compared to linear ligands, lower exothermicity and entropy loss were observed for an exchange with branched ligands, due to steric hindrance in ligand packing, thereby justifying their previous classification as "entropic ligands". Mean-field calculations for ligand binding demonstrate the contribution to the overall entropy originating from ligand conformational entropy, which is diminished upon binding mainly by packing of NC-bound ligands. Model calculations and the experimental ITC data both point to an interplay between the branching position and the backbone length in determining the entropic nature of the branched ligand. Our findings suggest that the most entropic ligand should be a short, branched ligand with short branching group located toward the middle of the ligand chain. The insights provided by this work also contribute to a future smarter NC surface design, which is an essential tool for their implementation in diverse applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orian Elimelech
- The
Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Omer Aviv
- The
Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Meirav Oded
- The
Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Xiaogang Peng
- Department
of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 P. R. China
| | - Daniel Harries
- The
Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
- The
Fritz Haber Center, The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Uri Banin
- The
Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
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10
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Xia J, Lee M, Santos PJ, Horst N, Macfarlane RJ, Guo H, Travesset A. Nanocomposite tectons as unifying systems for nanoparticle assembly. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:2176-2192. [PMID: 35212698 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01738a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Nanocomposite tectons (NCTs) are nanocomposite building blocks consisting of nanoparticle cores functionalized with a polymer brush, where each polymer chain terminates in a supramolecular recognition group capable of driving particle assembly. Like other ligand-driven nanoparticle assembly schemes (for example those using DNA-hybridization or solvent evaporation), NCTs are able to make colloidal crystal structures with precise particle organization in three dimensions. However, despite the similarity of NCT assembly to other methods of engineering ordered particle arrays, the crystallographic symmetries of assembled NCTs are significantly different. In this study, we provide a detailed characterization of the dynamics of hybridizations through universal (independent of microscopic details) parameters. We perform rigorous free energy calculations and identify the persistence length of the ligand as the critical parameter accounting for the differences in the phase diagrams of NCTs and other assembly methods driven by hydrogen bond hybridizations. We also report new experiments to provide direct verification for the predictions. We conclude by discussing the role of non-equilibrium effects and illustrating how NCTs provide a unification of the two most successful strategies for nanoparticle assembly: solvent evaporation and DNA programmable assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianshe Xia
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Margaret Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Peter J Santos
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Nathan Horst
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Robert J Macfarlane
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Hongxia Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University and Ames Lab, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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11
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Missoni L, Tagliazucchi M. Body centered tetragonal nanoparticle superlattices: why and when they form? NANOSCALE 2021; 13:14371-14381. [PMID: 34473819 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr08312g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Body centered tetragonal (BCT) phases are structural intermediates between body centered cubic (BCC) and face centered cubic (FCC) structures. However, BCC ↔ FCC transitions may or may not involve a stable BCT intermediate. Interestingly, nanoparticle superlattices usually crystallize in BCT structures, but this phase is much less frequent for colloidal crystals of micrometer-sized particles. Two origins have been proposed for the formation of BCT NPSLs: (i) the influence of the substrate on which the nanoparticle superlattice is deposited, and (ii) non-spherical nanoparticle shapes, combined with the fact that different crystal facets have different ligand organizations. Notably, none of these two mechanisms alone is able to explain the set of available experimental observations. In this work, these two hypotheses were independently tested using a recently developed molecular theory for nanoparticle superlattices that explicitly captures the degrees of freedom associated with the ligands on the nanoparticle surface and the crystallization solvent. We show that the presence of a substrate can stabilize the BCT structure for spherical nanoparticles, but only for very specific combinations of parameters. On the other hand, a truncated-octahedron nanoparticle shape strongly stabilizes BCT structures in a wide region of the phase diagram. In the latter case, we show that the stabilization of BCT results from the geometry of the system and it does not require different crystal facets to have different ligand properties, as previously proposed. These results shed light on the mechanisms of BCT stabilization in nanoparticle superlattices and provide guidelines to control its formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Missoni
- Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Química de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mario Tagliazucchi
- Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Química de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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12
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Pham M, Travesset A. Ligand structure and adsorption free energy of nanocrystals on solid substrates. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:204701. [PMID: 33261491 DOI: 10.1063/5.0030529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We present an investigation on the absorption of alkylthiolated nanocrystals on a solid substrate. We calculate adsorption free energies and report a number of effects induced by the substrate. Nearest neighbor distances and bonding free energies are significantly different than for a free floating case, there is a weakening of bonding free energies among nanocrystals, and the adsorption is manifestly anisotropic, i.e., stronger along certain directions of the nanocrystal core. We contend that this last result accounts for the Bain transition (fcc → bcc) observed in experimental results. We report the presence of vortices induced by the substrate, which explain the increased nearest neighbor distance among nanocrystals, which is in excellent quantitative agreement with experimental results and with the predictions of the Orbifold Topological Model. Implications for the assembly of nanostructures and future experiments are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Pham
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
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13
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Shevchenko EV, Podsiadlo P, Wu X, Lee B, Rajh T, Morin R, Pelton M. Visualizing Heterogeneity of Monodisperse CdSe Nanocrystals by Their Assembly into Three-Dimensional Supercrystals. ACS NANO 2020; 14:14989-14998. [PMID: 33073574 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c04864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We show that the self-assembly of monodisperse CdSe nanocrystals synthesized at lower temperature (∼310 °C) into three-dimensional supercrystals results in the formation of separate regions within the supercrystals that display photoluminescence at two distinctly different wavelengths. Specifically, the central portions of the supercrystals display photoluminescence and absorption in the orange region of the spectrum, around 585 nm, compared to the 575 nm photoluminescence maximum for the nanocrystals dispersed in toluene. Distinct domains on the surfaces and edges of the supercrystals, by contrast, display photoluminescence and absorption in the green region of the spectrum, around 570 nm. We attribute the different-colored domains to two subpopulations of NCs in the monodisperse ensemble: the nanocrystals in the "orange" regions are chemically stable, whereas the nanocrystals in the "green" regions are partially oxidized. The susceptibility of the "green" nanocrystals to oxidation indicates a lower coverage of capping molecules on these nanocrystals. We propose that the two subpopulations correspond to nanocrystals with different surfaces that we attribute to the polytypism of CdSe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V Shevchenko
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Paul Podsiadlo
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
- ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, Fuels, Process & Optimization Technology Process Engineering Division, 22777 Springwoods Village, Parkway Spring, Texas 77389, United States
| | - Xiaohua Wu
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
- Mindray, Mindray Building, Hitech Industrial Park, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Byeongdu Lee
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Tijana Rajh
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Rachel Morin
- Department of Physics, UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 20912, United States
| | - Matthew Pelton
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
- Department of Physics, UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 20912, United States
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14
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Xia J, Guo H, Travesset A. On the Thermodynamic Stability of Binary Superlattices of Polystyrene-Functionalized Nanocrystals. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jianshe Xia
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hongxia Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University and Ames Lab, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
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15
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Macias E, Waltmann T, Travesset A. Assembly of nanocrystal clusters by solvent evaporation: icosahedral order and the breakdown of the Maxwell regime. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:7350-7358. [PMID: 32785366 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm00838a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We carry out molecular dynamics simulations of N gold alkylthiolated nanocrystals (0 ≤ N ≤ 29) contained in liquid droplets of octane, nonane and decane coexisting with its vapor. The equilibrium structures that result when all the solvent dries up consist of highly symmetric nanocrystal clusters with different degrees of icosahedral order that are thoroughly characterized. We show that the relaxation times follow two regimes, a first for small nanocrystal packing fraction, dominated by the diffusion of vapor molecules (Maxwell regime, relaxation times independent of N) and another, for larger packing fractions, where the solvent diffuses through the cluster (with relaxation times growing like N2/3). We discuss the connection to the assembly of superlattices, prediction of lattice constants and evaporation models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Macias
- Department of Physics & Astronomy and Ames Laboratory - USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
| | - Tommy Waltmann
- Department of Physics & Astronomy and Ames Laboratory - USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics & Astronomy and Ames Laboratory - USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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16
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Patra B, Agrawal H, Zheng JY, Zha X, Travesset A, Garnett EC. Close-Packed Ultrasmooth Self-assembled Monolayer of CsPbBr 3 Perovskite Nanocubes. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:31764-31769. [PMID: 32545949 PMCID: PMC7430943 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c05945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The use of colloidal self-assembly to form the complex multiscale patterns in many optoelectronic devices has been a long-standing dream of the nanoscience community. While great progress has been made using charged colloids in polar solvents, controlled assembly from nonpolar solvents is much more challenging. The major challenge is colloidal clustering caused by strong van der Waals (vdW) attraction between long-chain surface capping ligands passivating the surface of nanocrystals. Such clustering degrades ordering in packing during the self-assembly process. While ligand exchange to provide colloidal stability in polar phases is often an option, this is not the case for the exciting new class of halide perovskites due to the material's solubility in essentially all polar solvents. Here, we report surface-functionalized self-assembly of luminescent CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocubes by partially replacing long-chain oleyl groups (18 carbon chain) with short-chain thiocyanate (SCN-). This enables the fabrication of ultrasmooth monolayer thin films of nanocubes with a root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of around 4 Å. This ultrasmooth large area self-assembled layer could act as high-efficiency optoelectronic devices like solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), transistors, etc. We correlate our experimental results with simulations, providing detailed predictions for lattice constants with chain conformations showing reduced free energy for cubes grafted with short-chain thiocyanate compared to long-chain oleyl groups, thus facilitating better self-assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biplab
K. Patra
- Center
for Nanophotonics, AMOLF, 1098XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Materials
Chemistry Department, CSIR—Institute
of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar 751013, India
| | - Harshal Agrawal
- Center
for Nanophotonics, AMOLF, 1098XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jian-Yao Zheng
- Center
for Nanophotonics, AMOLF, 1098XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Xun Zha
- Department
of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department
of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
- Ames
Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Erik C. Garnett
- Center
for Nanophotonics, AMOLF, 1098XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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17
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Ren S, Sun Y, Zhang F, Travesset A, Wang CZ, Ho KM. Phase Diagram and Structure Map of Binary Nanoparticle Superlattices from a Lennard-Jones Model. ACS NANO 2020; 14:6795-6802. [PMID: 32479719 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c00250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A first-principles prediction of the binary nanoparticle phase diagram assembled by solvent evaporation has eluded theoretical approaches. In this paper, we show that a binary system interacting through the Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential contains all experimental phases in which nanoparticles are effectively described as quasi hard spheres. We report a phase diagram consisting of 53 equilibrium phases, whose stability is quite insensitive to the microscopic details of the potentials, thus giving rise to some type of universality. Furthermore, we show that binary lattices may be understood as consisting of certain particle clusters, i.e., motifs, that provide a generalization of the four conventional Frank-Kasper polyhedral units. Our results show that metastable phases share the very same motifs as equilibrium phases. We discuss the connection with packing models, phase diagrams with repulsive potentials, and the prediction of likely experimental superlattices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shang Ren
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Yang Sun
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Feng Zhang
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Cai-Zhuang Wang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
| | - Kai-Ming Ho
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
- Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
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18
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Zha X, Travesset A. The hard sphere diameter of nanocrystals (nanoparticles). J Chem Phys 2020; 152:094502. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5132747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Xun Zha
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Ames Lab, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
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19
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Yatsyshin P, Fytas NG, Theodorakis PE. Mixing-demixing transition in polymer-grafted spherical nanoparticles. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:703-708. [PMID: 31819935 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01639b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs) can provide property profiles that cannot be obtained individually by polymers or nanoparticles (NPs). Here, we have studied the mixing-demixing transition of symmetric copolymer melts of polymer-grafted spherical nanoparticles by means of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation and a theoretical mean-field model. We find that a larger size of NPs leads to higher stability for a given number of grafted chains and chain lengths, reaching a point where demixing is not possible. Most importantly, the increase in the number of grafted chains, Ng, can initially favour the phase separation of PGNPs, but a further increase can lead to more difficult demixing. The reason is the increasing impact of an effective core that forms as the grafting density of the tethered polymer chains around the NPs increases. The range and exact values of Ng where this change in behaviour takes place depend on the NP size and the chain length of the grafted polymer chains. Our study elucidates the phase behaviour of PGNPs and in particular the influence of the grafting density on the phase behaviour of the systems, anticipating that it will open new doors in the understanding of these systems with implications in materials science and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Yatsyshin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, SW7 2AZ London, UK.
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20
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Horst N, Nayak S, Wang W, Mallapragada S, Vaknin D, Travesset A. Superlattice assembly by interpolymer complexation. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:9690-9699. [PMID: 31720681 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01659g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We present a coarse grained model for a system where nanocrystals are functionalized with a polymer that is a hydrogen bond acceptor, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), and are dispersed in a solution with a polymer whose monomers consist of a hydrogen bond donor, such as polyacrylic acid (PAA) at low pH (interpolymer complexation). We determine the minimum concentration of the polymer donor to induce aggregation and the structure and dynamics of the induced (fcc) superlattice. Our results are compared to previous and new experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Horst
- Ames Laboratory, and Iowa State University Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
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21
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Waltmannn T, Travesset A. Assembly by solvent evaporation: equilibrium structures and relaxation times. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:18702-18714. [PMID: 31589213 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr05908c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We present a study describing the dynamics and equilibrium of the assembly of nanostructures by solvent evaporation. We first consider N nanocrystals stabilized by capping ligands in a spherical droplet of liquid solvent coexisting with its gas and show that, as the liquid solvent evaporates slowly, NCs crystallize into clusters of high symmetry based on tetrahedral and octahedral units: tetrahedron (N = 4), octahedron (N = 6), icosahedron (N = 13), Archimedean truncated tetrahedron (N = 16) and Z20 (N = 21). We derive explicit formulas for the process and rigorously compute relaxation times, which drastically increase when the packing parameter reaches the hard-sphere liquid-solid transition η = 0.49. This result shows that contrary to what occurs in an evaporation of a single component system, the relaxation times are not determined by the diffusion constant of the vapor, but rather, are dominated by the residence time of solvent molecules trapped within the capping ligands. Our theory provides a number of predictions that enable the design of new structures while improving the control and quality of their assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommy Waltmannn
- Department of Physics & Astronomy and Ames Laboratory - USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics & Astronomy and Ames Laboratory - USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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22
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Liu X, Ni Y, He L. Interaction between capped tetrahedral gold nanocrystals: dependence on effective softness. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:8392-8401. [PMID: 31602452 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01389j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are performed to explore the interaction between two alkylthiol-capped tetrahedral gold nanocrystals (NCs) in a vacuum. The results highlight the influential role of the effective softness of the ligated NCs, i.e. the ratio of the ligand length to the core size. For sufficiently large softness, the relatively long ligand molecules round the shape of the NCs, causing their interaction to be nearly isotropic. For small effective softness, the relative shortness of the ligand molecules leads to a geometrically asymmetric morphology of the NCs, so that the interaction is orientation-dependent and is the strongest when the two NCs face each other with (111) facets. These findings are helpful for the understanding of interaction and structure formation in superlattices self-assembled from non-spherical ligand-capped NCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuepeng Liu
- Anhui Province Key Lab of Aerospace Structural Parts Forming Technology and Equipment, Institute of Industry and Equipment Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China.
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23
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Xia J, Horst N, Guo H, Travesset A. Superlattices of Nanocrystals with Polystyrene Ligands: From the Colloidal to Polymer Limit. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jianshe Xia
- Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | | | - Hongxia Guo
- Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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24
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Zygmunt W, Teich EG, van Anders G, Glotzer SC. Topological order in densely packed anisotropic colloids. Phys Rev E 2019; 100:032608. [PMID: 31639955 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.100.032608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The existence of topological order is frequently associated with strongly coupled quantum matter. Here, we demonstrate the existence of topological phases in classical systems of densely packed, hard, anisotropic polyhedrally shaped colloidal particles. We show that previously reported transitions in dense packings lead to the existence of topologically ordered thermodynamic phases, which we show are stable away from the dense packing limit. Our work expands the library of known topological phases, whose experimental realization could provide new means for constructing plasmonic materials that are robust in the presence of fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Zygmunt
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2136, USA
| | - Erin G Teich
- Applied Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1040, USA
| | - Greg van Anders
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2136, USA
- Applied Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1040, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1040, USA
| | - Sharon C Glotzer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2136, USA
- Applied Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1040, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1040, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2136, USA
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25
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Abstract
A vast array of natural phenomena can be understood through the long-established schema of chemical bonding. Conventional chemical bonds arise through local gradients resulting from the rearrangement of electrons; however, it is possible that the hallmark features of chemical bonding could arise through local gradients resulting from nonelectronic forms of mediation. If other forms of mediation give rise to "bonds" that act like conventional ones, recognizing them as bonds could open new forms of supramolecular descriptions of phenomena at the nano- and microscales. Here, we show via a minimal model that crowded hard-particle systems governed solely by entropy exhibit the hallmark features of bonding despite the absence of chemical interactions. We quantitatively characterize these features and compare them to those exhibited by chemical bonds to argue for the existence of entropic bonds. As an example of the utility of the entropic bond classification, we demonstrate the nearly equivalent tradeoff between chemical bonds and entropic bonds in the colloidal crystallization of hard hexagonal nanoplates.
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26
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Patra TK, Chan H, Podsiadlo P, Shevchenko EV, Sankaranarayanan SKRS, Narayanan B. Ligand dynamics control structure, elasticity, and high-pressure behavior of nanoparticle superlattices. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:10655-10666. [PMID: 30839029 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr09699f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Precise engineering of nanoparticle superlattices (NPSLs) for energy applications requires a molecular-level understanding of the physical factors governing their morphology, periodicity, mechanics, and response to external stimuli. Such knowledge, particularly the impact of ligand dynamics on physical behavior of NPSLs, is still in its infancy. Here, we combine coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, and small angle X-ray scattering experiments in a diamond anvil cell to demonstrate that coverage density of capping ligands (i.e., number of ligands per unit area of a nanoparticle's surface), strongly influences the structure, elasticity, and high-pressure behavior of NPSLs using face-centered cubic PbS-NPSLs as a representative example. We demonstrate that ligand coverage density dictates (a) the extent of diffusion of ligands over NP surfaces, (b) spatial distribution of the ligands in the interstitial spaces between neighboring NPs, and (c) the fraction of ligands that interdigitate across different nanoparticles. We find that below a critical coverage density (1.8 nm-2 for 7 nm PbS NPs capped with oleic acid), NPSLs collapse to form disordered aggregates via sintering, even under ambient conditions. Above the threshold ligand coverage density, NPSLs surprisingly preserve their crystalline order even under high applied pressures (∼40-55 GPa), and show a completely reversible pressure behavior. This opens the possibility of reversibly manipulating lattice spacing of NPSLs, and in turn, finely tuning their collective electronic, optical, thermo-mechanical, and magnetic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarak K Patra
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA.
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27
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Structural regulation of NiFe2O4 colloidal nanocrystal assembly and their magnetic and electrocatalytic properties. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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28
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Coropceanu I, Boles MA, Talapin DV. Systematic Mapping of Binary Nanocrystal Superlattices: The Role of Topology in Phase Selection. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:5728-5740. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b12539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Igor Coropceanu
- Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Michael A. Boles
- Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Dmitri V. Talapin
- Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
- Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
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29
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Liu X, Lu P, Zhai H. Molecular interaction between asymmetric ligand-capped gold nanocrystals. J Chem Phys 2019; 150:034702. [PMID: 30660164 DOI: 10.1063/1.5065476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the potential of mean force (PMF) between two asymmetric gold nanocrystals (NCs) capped by alkylthiols in a vacuum. We systematically investigate the dependence of the PMF on the sizes and capping ligand lengths of two NCs. The results show that the potential well depth scales linearly with increasing total length of two capping ligands on asymmetric dimers, but it hardly depends on the NC size. The predicted equilibrium distance between two asymmetric NCs grows significantly and linearly with the total size of two NCs and exhibits only a slight increase with increasing total ligand length. These findings are explained in terms of the amount of ligand interdigitation between NC surfaces as well as its alterations caused by the change in ligand length and NC size. Furthermore, we introduce a simple formula to estimate the equilibrium distance of two asymmetric NCs. On the basis of the computed PMFs, we propose an empirical two-body potential between asymmetric capped gold NCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuepeng Liu
- Anhui Province Key Lab of Aerospace Structural Parts Forming Technology and Equipment, Institute of Industry and Equipment Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
| | - Pin Lu
- Anhui Province Key Lab of Aerospace Structural Parts Forming Technology and Equipment, Institute of Industry and Equipment Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
| | - Hua Zhai
- Anhui Province Key Lab of Aerospace Structural Parts Forming Technology and Equipment, Institute of Industry and Equipment Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
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30
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Fan Z, Grünwald M. Orientational Order in Self-Assembled Nanocrystal Superlattices. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:1980-1988. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b10752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhaochuan Fan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Michael Grünwald
- Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
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31
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Monego D, Kister T, Kirkwood N, Mulvaney P, Widmer-Cooper A, Kraus T. Colloidal Stability of Apolar Nanoparticles: Role of Ligand Length. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:12982-12989. [PMID: 30299970 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Inorganic nanoparticle cores are often coated with organic ligands to render them dispersible in apolar solvents. However, the effect of the ligand shell on the colloidal stability of the overall hybrid particle is not fully understood. In particular, it is not known how the length of an apolar alkyl ligand chain affects the stability of a nanoparticle dispersion against agglomeration. Here, small-angle X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations have been used to study the interactions between gold nanoparticles and between cadmium selenide nanoparticles passivated by alkanethiol ligands with 12-18 carbons in the solvent decane. We find that increasing the ligand length increases colloidal stability in the core-dominated regime but decreases it in the ligand-dominated regime. This unexpected inversion is connected to the transition from ligand-dominated to core-dominated agglomeration when the core diameter increases at constant ligand length. Our results provide a microscopic picture of the forces that determine the colloidal stability of apolar nanoparticles and explain why classical colloid theory fails.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Monego
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry and The University of Sydney Nano Institute , University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Thomas Kister
- INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials , Campus D2 2 , 66123 Saarbrücken , Germany
| | - Nicholas Kirkwood
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry , University of Melbourne , Parkville , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Paul Mulvaney
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry , University of Melbourne , Parkville , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Asaph Widmer-Cooper
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry and The University of Sydney Nano Institute , University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Tobias Kraus
- INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials , Campus D2 2 , 66123 Saarbrücken , Germany
- Colloid and Interface Chemistry , Saarland University , Campus D2 2 , 66123 Saarbrücken , Germany
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32
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Zhu H, Fan Z, Yuan Y, Wilson MA, Hills-Kimball K, Wei Z, He J, Li R, Grünwald M, Chen O. Self-Assembly of Quantum Dot-Gold Heterodimer Nanocrystals with Orientational Order. NANO LETTERS 2018; 18:5049-5056. [PMID: 29989818 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The self-assembly of nanocrystals into ordered superlattices is a powerful strategy for the production of functional nanomaterials. The assembly of well-ordered target structures, however, requires control over the building blocks' size and shape as well as their interactions. While nanocrystals with homogeneous composition are now routinely synthesized with high precision and assembled into various ordered structures, high-quality multicomponent nanocrystals and their ordered assemblies are rarely reported. In this paper, we demonstrate the synthesis of quantum dot-gold (QD-Au) heterodimers. These heterodimers possess a uniform shape and narrow size distribution and are capped with oleylamine and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB). Assembly of the heterodimers results in a superlattice with long-range orientational alignment of dimers. Using synchrotron-based X-ray measurements, we characterize the complex superstructure formed from the dimers. Molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained model suggest that anisotropic interactions between the quantum dot and gold components of the dimer drive superlattice formation. The high degree of orientational order demonstrated in this work is a potential route to nanomaterials with useful optoelectronic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Zhu
- Department of Chemistry , Brown University , Providence , Rhode Island 02912 , United States
| | - Zhaochuan Fan
- Department of Chemistry , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , Utah 84112 , United States
| | - Yucheng Yuan
- Department of Chemistry , Brown University , Providence , Rhode Island 02912 , United States
| | - Mitchell A Wilson
- Department of Chemistry , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , Utah 84112 , United States
| | - Katie Hills-Kimball
- Department of Chemistry , Brown University , Providence , Rhode Island 02912 , United States
| | - Zichao Wei
- Department of Chemistry , University of Connecticut , Storrs , Connecticut 06269 , United States
| | - Jie He
- Department of Chemistry , University of Connecticut , Storrs , Connecticut 06269 , United States
| | - Ruipeng Li
- National Synchrotron Light Source II , Brookhaven National Laboratory , Upton , New York 11973 , United States
| | - Michael Grünwald
- Department of Chemistry , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , Utah 84112 , United States
| | - Ou Chen
- Department of Chemistry , Brown University , Providence , Rhode Island 02912 , United States
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Waltmann C, Horst N, Travesset A. Potential of mean force for two nanocrystals: Core geometry and size, hydrocarbon unsaturation, and universality with respect to the force field. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:034109. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5039495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Curt Waltmann
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Ames Lab, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Nathan Horst
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Ames Lab, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and Ames Lab, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
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Kister T, Monego D, Mulvaney P, Widmer-Cooper A, Kraus T. Colloidal Stability of Apolar Nanoparticles: The Role of Particle Size and Ligand Shell Structure. ACS NANO 2018; 12:5969-5977. [PMID: 29842786 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b02202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Being able to predict and tune the colloidal stability of nanoparticles is essential for a wide range of applications, yet our ability to do so is currently poor due to a lack of understanding of how they interact with one another. Here, we show that the agglomeration of apolar particles is dominated by either the core or the ligand shell depending on the particle size and materials. We do this by using small-angle X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the interaction between hexadecanethiol passivated gold nanoparticles in decane solvent. For smaller particles, the agglomeration temperature and interparticle spacing are determined by ordering of the ligand shell into bundles of aligned ligands that attract one another and interlock. In contrast, the agglomeration of larger particles is driven by van der Waals attraction between the gold cores, which eventually becomes strong enough to compress the ligand shell. Our results provide a microscopic description of the forces that determine the colloidal stability of apolar nanoparticles and explain why classical colloid theory fails.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Kister
- INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials , Campus D2 2 , 66123 Saarbrücken , Germany
| | - Debora Monego
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry , University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Paul Mulvaney
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry , University of Melbourne , Parkville , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Asaph Widmer-Cooper
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry , University of Sydney , Sydney , New South Wales 2006 , Australia
| | - Tobias Kraus
- INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials , Campus D2 2 , 66123 Saarbrücken , Germany
- Colloid and Interface Chemistry , Saarland University , Campus D2 2 , 66123 Saarbrücken , Germany
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Waltmann T, Waltmann C, Horst N, Travesset A. Many Body Effects and Icosahedral Order in Superlattice Self-Assembly. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:8236-8245. [PMID: 29905064 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b03895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
We elucidate how nanocrystals "bond" to form ordered structures. For that purpose we consider nanocrystal configurations consisting of regular polygons and polyhedra, which are the motifs that constitute single component and binary nanocrystal superlattices, and simulate them using united atom models. We compute the free energy and quantify many body effects, i.e., those that cannot be accounted for by pair potential (two-body) interactions, further showing that they arise from coalescing vortices of capping ligands. We find that such vortex textures exist for configurations with local coordination number ≤6. For higher coordination numbers, vortices are expelled and nanocrystals arrange in configurations with tetrahedral or icosahedral order. We provide explicit formulas for the optimal separations between nanocrystals, which correspond to the minima of the free energies. Our results quantitatively explain the structure of superlattice nanocrystals as reported in experiments and reveal how packing arguments, extended to include soft components, predict ordered nanocrystal aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommy Waltmann
- Department of Physics and Astronomy , Iowa State University, and Ames Laboratory , Ames , Iowa 50011 , United States
| | - Curt Waltmann
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Iowa State University, and Ames Laboratory , Ames , Iowa 50011 , United States
| | - Nathan Horst
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Iowa State University, and Ames Laboratory , Ames , Iowa 50011 , United States
| | - Alex Travesset
- Department of Physics and Astronomy , Iowa State University, and Ames Laboratory , Ames , Iowa 50011 , United States
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Abstract
Since the 1920s, packing arguments have been used to rationalize crystal structures in systems ranging from atomic mixtures to colloidal crystals. Packing arguments have recently been applied to complex nanoparticle structures, where they often, but not always, work. We examine when, if ever, packing is a causal mechanism in hard particle approximations of colloidal crystals. We investigate three crystal structures composed of their ideal packing shapes. We show that, contrary to expectations, the ordering mechanism cannot be packing, even when the thermodynamically self-assembled structure is the same as that of the densest packing. We also show that the best particle shapes for hard particle colloidal crystals at any finite pressure are imperfect versions of the ideal packing shape.
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