Self-Organized Tubular Structures as Platforms for Quantum Dots

Shape-preserving conversion of calcium carbonate tubes to self-propelled micromotors

The self-assembly of inorganic structures beyond the euhedral shape repertoire is a powerful approach to grow hierarchically ordered materials and mesoscopic devices. The hollow precipitate tubes in chemical gardens are a classic example, which we produce on Nafion membranes separating a CaCl₂-containing gel from a Na₂CO₃ solution. The resulting CaCO₃ microtubes are conical and consist of either pure vaterite or calcite. The process also forms branched T- and Y-shaped structures. The metastable vaterite polymorph can be converted to Mn-based structures without loss of the macroscopic shape. In H₂O₂ solution, the resulting tubes self-propel by the release of O₂ bubbles, which for branched structures causes rotation. The tubes can contain multiple bubbles which are ejected in a quasi-periodic fashion (e.g. in groups of four). The addition of surfactants causes the accumulation of bubble trails and bubble rafts that interact with the moving tubes and give rise to distinct motion patterns.

Collective motion of self-propelled chemical garden tubes

In H₂O₂ solutions, manganese-containing chemical garden tubes can self-propel due to the catalytic production and ejection of oxygen bubbles. Here, we investigate the collective behavior of these self-assembled precipitate tubes. In thin solution layers, the tubes show definite autonomous dynamics with only weak interactions that result from fluid motion around the moving units and directional changes during collisions. In thick solution layers with convex menisci forcing spatial confinement, the tubes undergo cycles of self-assembly and dispersion. This collective motion results from the rhythmic creation of a large master bubble around which the tubes align tangentially.

Formation and growth of lithium phosphate chemical gardens

We show that a chemical garden can be developed from an alkaline metal precipitate using a flow-driven setup. By injecting sodium phosphate solution into lithium chloride solution from below, a liquid jet appears, on which a precipitate grows forming a structure resembling a hydrothermal vent. The precipitate column continuously builds upward until a maximum height is reached. The vertical growth then significantly slows down while the tube diameter still increases. The analysis of the growth profiles has revealed a linear dependence of volume growth rate on the injection rate, hence yielding a universal growth profile. The expansion in diameter, localized at the tip of the structure, scales with a power law suggesting that the phenomenon is controlled by both diffusion and convection.

Photoluminescence modulation of silicon nanoparticles via highly ordered arrangement with phospholipid membranes

Highly ordered self-assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) in a large scale promises attractive potential in optical modulation of the NPs for illuminating, imaging and sensing applications. In this work, a type of multi-lamellar nanocomposite membranes composed of phospholipid multilayers and Si NPs sandwiched between each adjacent lipid layers was fabricated via a facile co-assembly method. X-ray reflectivity (XRR), grazing incident X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and TEM measurements verified the highly ordered arrangement of NPs within the multilayers with a controlled in-plane inter-particle separation from ∼7 nm to ∼14 nm. Due to such an arrangement, the photoluminescence (PL) properties of the Si NPs were effectively modulated. Compared to the NPs in suspension or its pure film, the PL of the NPs in the membranes blue-shifted and remarkably narrowed, with the full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) value reduced from >110 nm of the pure Si NP film to below 43 nm. The radiative lifetime of the NPs was also significantly reduced from ∼16.7 ns to ∼3.3 ns depending on the inter-particle distance in the membrane. Meanwhile, the Si NPs within membranes maintained robust photostability under UV irradiation.

Self-organization in precipitation reactions far from the equilibrium

Far from the thermodynamic equilibrium, many precipitation reactions create complex product structures with fascinating features caused by their unusual origins. Unlike the dissipative patterns in other self-organizing reactions, these features can be permanent, suggesting potential applications in materials science and engineering. We review four distinct classes of precipitation reactions, describe similarities and differences, and discuss related challenges for theoretical studies. These classes are hollow micro- and macrotubes in chemical gardens, polycrystalline silica carbonate aggregates (biomorphs), Liesegang bands, and propagating precipitation-dissolution fronts. In many cases, these systems show intricate structural hierarchies that span from the nanometer scale into the macroscopic world. We summarize recent experimental progress that often involves growth under tightly regulated conditions by means of wet stamping, holographic heating, and controlled electric, magnetic, or pH perturbations. In this research field, progress requires mechanistic insights that cannot be derived from experiments alone. We discuss how mesoscopic aspects of the product structures can be modeled by reaction-transport equations and suggest important targets for future studies that should also include materials features at the nanoscale.

Labs-on-a-chip meet self-propelled micromotors

This frontier review covers recent advances in the field of nanomaterial-based micromotors for the development of novel labs-on-a-chip (LOCs). In this review, we will discuss how carbon nanomaterials "on-board" of micromotors offer particular promise for diverse LOC applications. New trends in the field, directed towards the use of quantum dots and nanoparticles as functional materials for sophisticated micromotors, will be reviewed. Micromotor strategies using functionalized catalytic microengines to capture and transport (bio)molecules between the different reservoirs of LOC devices will also be covered. These recent advances are bringing closer our hopes for personalized medicine and food safety assurance, among others.

Pressure Controlled Chemical Gardens

The dissolution of metal salts in silicate solution can result in the growth of hollow precipitate tubes. These "chemical gardens" are a model of self-organization far from the equilibrium and create permanent macroscopic structures. The reproducibility of the growth process is greatly improved if the solid salt seed is replaced by a salt solution that is steadily injected by a pump; however, this modification of the original experiment eliminates the membrane-based osmotic pump at the base of conventional chemical gardens and does not allow for analyses in terms of the involved pressure. Here we describe a new experimental method that delivers the salt solution according to a controlled hydrostatic pressure. In one form of the experiment, this pressure slowly decreases as zinc sulfate solution flows into the silicate-containing reaction vessel, whereas a second version holds the respective solution heights constant. In addition to three known growth regimes (jetting, popping, budding), we observe single tubes that fill the vessel in a horizontally undulating but vertically layered fashion (crowding). The resulting, dried product has a cylindrical shape, very low density, and one continuous connection from top to bottom. We also present phase diagrams of these growth modes and show that the flow characteristics of our experiments follow a reaction-independent Hagen-Poiseuille equation.

Flow-driven pattern formation in the calcium-oxalate system

The precipitation reaction of calcium oxalate is studied experimentally in the presence of spatial gradients by controlled flow of calcium into oxalate solution. The density difference between the reactants leads to strong convection in the form of a gravity current that drives the spatiotemporal pattern formation. The phase diagram of the system is constructed, the evolving precipitate patterns are analyzed and quantitatively characterized by their diameters and the average height of the gravity flow. The compact structures of calcium oxalate monohydrate produced at low flow rates are replaced by the thermodynamically unstable calcium oxalate dihydrate favored in the presence of a strong gravity current.

Systematic characterization of polycrystalline silica–carbonate helices

Biomorphs are complex, life-like structures that emerge from the precipitation of barium carbonate and amorphous silica in alkaline media.

Flow-driven morphology control in the cobalt–oxalate system

The presence of fluid flow by maintaining the density gradient and controlling the flow rate provides a simple method to modify the microstructure of cobalt oxalate.

Tunable Fluorescent Silica-Coated Carbon Dots: A Synergistic Effect for Enhancing the Fluorescence Sensing of Extracellular Cu²⁺ in Rat Brain

Carbon quantum dots (CDs) combined with self-assembly strategy have created an innovative way to fabricate novel hybrids for biological analysis. This study demonstrates a new fluorescence platform with enhanced selectivity for copper ion sensing in the striatum of the rat brain following the cerebral calm/sepsis process. Here, the fabrication of silica-coated CDs probes is based on the efficient hybridization of APTES which act as a precursor of organosilane self-assembly, with CDs to form silica-coated CDs probes. The fluorescent properties including intensity, fluorescence quantum yield, excitation-independent region, and red/blue shift of the emission wavelength of the probe are tunable through reliable regulation of the ratio of CDs and APTES, realizing selectivity and sensitivity-oriented Cu(2+) sensing. The as-prepared probes (i.e., 3.33% APTES-0.9 mg mL(-1) CDs probe) show a synergistic amplification effect of CDs and APTES on enhancing the fluorescence signal of Cu(2+) detection through fluorescent self-quenching. The underlying mechanism can be ascribed to the stronger interaction including chelation and electrostatic attraction between Cu(2+) and N and O atoms-containing as well as negatively charged silica-coated CDs than other interference. Interestingly, colorimetric assay and Tyndall effect can be observed and applied to directly distinguish the concentration of Cu(2+) by the naked eye. The proposed fluorescent platform here has been successfully applied to monitor the alteration of striatum Cu(2+) in rat brain during the cerebral calm/sepsis process. The versatile properties of the probe provide a new and effective fluorescent platform for the sensing method in vivo sampled from the rat brain.

Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems

Here we report experimental simulations of hydrothermal chimney growth using injection chemical garden methods. The versatility of this type of experiment allows for testing of various proposed ocean / hydrothermal fluid chemistries that could have driven reactions toward the origin of life in environments on the early Earth, early Mars, or even other worlds such as the icy moons of the outer planets. We show experiments that include growth of chemical garden structures under anoxic conditions simulating the early Earth, inclusion of trace components of phosphates / organics in the injection solution to incorporate them into the structure, a switch of the injection solution to introduce a secondary precipitating anion, and the measurement of membrane potentials generated by chemical gardens. Using this method, self-assembling chemical garden structures were formed that mimic the natural chimneys precipitated at submarine hydrothermal springs, and these precipitates can be used successfully as flow-through reactors by feeding through multiple successive "hydrothermal" injections.

Chemical gardens without silica: the formation of pure metal hydroxide tubes

Contrary to common belief, hollow precipitation tubes form in the absence of silicate if sodium hydroxide solution is injected into solutions of various metal ions. In many cases, the growth speed has a power law dependence on the flow rate. For vanadyl, we observe damped oscillations in the tube height.

Self-Alignment of Beads and Cell Trapping in Precipitate Tubes

Propagating reaction fronts allow the formation of materials in self-sustained, steep concentration gradients, which would otherwise rapidly decay. These conditions can result in macroscopic, noncrystallographic structures, such as tubes with large aspect ratios. For hollow silica/Zn(OH)2 tubes, we report the inclusion of diverse mesoscopic building blocks ranging from polymer beads to biological cells. For agarose beads, we observe spontaneous alignment along vertical tracks; the nearly periodic spacing of the beads along these tracks follows a log-normal distribution. We interpret this patterning in terms of hydrodynamic recruitment and discuss similarities to the adhesion dynamics of leukocytes in blood vessels. For diatoms and other cells, we observe novel surface textures, and yeast tagged with a green fluorescent protein shows strong fluorescence activity after trapping. The inclusion of these guest units should improve the possibilities for the application of these tubes in microfluidics and biotechnology.

Genericity of confined chemical garden patterns with regard to changes in the reactants

Typical patterns emerging during the growth of chemical gardens in a confined geometry when the concentration of the reactants are changed. These patterns are robust to changes in the reactant ions.

Lighting up micromotors with quantum dots for smart chemical sensing

A novel “on-the-fly” chemical detection strategy based on coupling of the optical properties of QDs and the autonomous movement of micromachines is described.

Spiral precipitation patterns in confined chemical gardens

Chemical gardens are mineral aggregates that grow in three dimensions with plant-like forms and share properties with self-assembled structures like nanoscale tubes, brinicles, or chimneys at hydrothermal vents. The analysis of their shapes remains a challenge, as their growth is influenced by osmosis, buoyancy, and reaction-diffusion processes. Here we show that chemical gardens grown by injection of one reactant into the other in confined conditions feature a wealth of new patterns including spirals, flowers, and filaments. The confinement decreases the influence of buoyancy, reduces the spatial degrees of freedom, and allows analysis of the patterns by tools classically used to analyze 2D patterns. Injection moreover allows the study in controlled conditions of the effects of variable concentrations on the selected morphology. We illustrate these innovative aspects by characterizing quantitatively, with a simple geometrical model, a new class of self-similar logarithmic spirals observed in a large zone of the parameter space.

From hydrodynamic plumes to chemical gardens: the concentration-dependent onset of tube formation

Many inorganic precipitation reactions self-organize macroscopic tubes known as chemical gardens. We study the nonequilibrium formation of these structures by injecting aqueous sodium sulfide solution into a reservoir of iron(II) chloride solution. Our experiments reveal a distinct, concentration-dependent transition from convective plumes of reaction-induced, colloidal particles to mechanically connected, hollow tubes. The transition concentration (0.1 mol/L) is widely independent of the injection rate and causes a discontinuous change from the radius of the plume stalk to the radius of the tube. In addition, tubes have lower growth speeds than plumes. At the transition concentration, one observes the initial formation of a plume followed by the growth of a mechanically weak tube around a jet of upward-moving precipitation particles. We find that the plumes' morphology and geometric scaling are similar to that of laminar starting plumes in nonreactive systems. The characterization of dried tubes by X-ray diffraction indicates the presence of greigite and lepidocrocite.