Polymer/Perovskite-type nanoparticle multilayers with multielectric properties prepared from ligand addition-induced layer-by-layer assembly

Mechanical and Tribological Performances Enhanced by Self-Assembled Structures

Taking inspiration from natural materials, composite materials can be reinforced by creating matrix architectures that can better accommodate and control internal stresses. Despite the recent success in the synthesis of artificial assemblies for local reinforcement through the introduction of oriented fibers and plates into host multilayered composites, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of the factors that determine mechanical properties. Moreover, designing building blocks and interfaces that facilitate higher resistance and energy dissipation is highly challenging. When the intrinsic material is fixed, the mechanical and tribological properties can be further adjusted. In this study, europium oxide nanosheets are arranged in interlocked-junction superstructures that resist sliding at junction points, thereby enhancing the mechanical properties of the nanosheet assemblies compared to those of the conventional face-to-face superstructures formed by parallel nanosheets. Furthermore, the crystalline origin of building blocks is revealed by demonstrating that faulty crystal nanosheets adopting an amorphous structure are different from single-crystal nanosheets, with the former exhibiting superior mechanical reinforcement and improved abrasive resistance.

Multistimuli Responsive Nanocomposite Tectons for Pathway Dependent Self-Assembly and Acceleration of Covalent Bond Formation

Nanocomposite tectons (NCTs) are a recently developed building block for polymer-nanoparticle composite synthesis, consisting of nanoparticle cores functionalized with dense monolayers of polymer chains that terminate in supramolecular recognition groups capable of linking NCTs into hierarchical structures. In principle, the use of molecular binding to guide particle assembly allows NCTs to be highly modular in design, with independent control over the composition of the particle core and polymer brush. However, a major challenge to realize an array of compositionally and structurally varied NCT-based materials is the development of different supramolecular bonding interactions to control NCT assembly, as well as an understanding of how the organization of multiple supramolecular groups around a nanoparticle scaffold affects their collective binding interactions. Here, we present a suite of rationally designed NCT systems, where multiple types of supramolecular interactions (hydrogen bonding, metal complexation, and dynamic covalent bond formation) are used to tune NCT assembly as a function of multiple external stimuli including temperature, small molecules, pH, and light. Furthermore, the incorporation of multiple orthogonal supramolecular chemistries in a single NCT system makes it possible to dictate the morphologies of the assembled NCTs in a pathway-dependent fashion. Finally, multistimuli responsive NCTs enable the modification of composite properties by postassembly functionalization, where NCTs linked by covalent bonds with significantly enhanced stability are obtained in a fast and efficient manner. The designs presented here therefore provide major advancement for the field of composite synthesis by establishing a framework for synthesizing hierarchically ordered composites capable of complicated assembly behaviors.

Highly Conductive Paper/Textile Electrodes Using Ligand Exchange Reaction-Induced in Situ Metallic Fusion

Here, we report that metal nanoparticle (NP)-based paper/textile electrodes with bulk metallic conductivity can be prepared via organic linker-modulated ligand exchange reaction and in situ room-temperature metallic fusion without additional chemical or thermal treatments. For this study, amine-functionalized molecule linkers instead of bulky polymer linkers were layer-by-layer (LbL)-assembled with tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOABr)-stabilized Au NPs to form Au NP multilayered films. By conversion of the amine groups of the organic molecule linkers from -NH₃⁺ to the -NH₂ groups, as well as by a decrease in the size of the organic linkers, the LbL-assembled Au NPs became highly interconnected and fused during LbL deposition, resulting in Au NP multilayers with adjustable conductivity and transport behavior. These phenomena were also predicted by a density functional theory investigation for the model system. Particularly, LbL-assembled films composed of TOABr-Au NPs and diethylenetriamine ( M_w: ∼104) exhibited a remarkable electrical conductivity of 2.2 × 10⁵ S·cm^-1, which was higher than the electrical conductivity of the metal NP-based electrodes as well as the carbon material-based electrodes reported to date. Furthermore, based on our approach, a variety of insulating flexible papers and textiles were successfully converted into real metal-like paper and textile electrodes with high flexibility preserving their highly porous structure. This approach can provide a basis for further improving and controlling the electrical properties of flexible electrodes through the control of organic linkers.

Synergies of Electrochemical Metallization and Valance Change in All-Inorganic Perovskite Quantum Dots for Resistive Switching

The in-depth understanding of ions' generation and movement inside all-inorganic perovskite quantum dots (CsPbBr₃ QDs), which may lead to a paradigm to break through the conventional von Neumann bottleneck, is strictly limited. Here, it is shown that formation and annihilation of metal conductive filaments and Br^- ion vacancy filaments driven by an external electric field and light irradiation can lead to pronounced resistive-switching effects. Verified by field-emission scanning electron microscopy as well as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, the resistive switching behavior of CsPbBr₃ QD-based photonic resistive random-access memory (RRAM) is initiated by the electrochemical metallization and valance change. By coupling CsPbBr₃ QD-based RRAM with a p-channel transistor, the novel application of an RRAM-gate field-effect transistor presenting analogous functions of flash memory is further demonstrated. These results may accelerate the technological deployment of all-inorganic perovskite QD-based photonic resistive memory for successful logic application.

Ferroelectric/Dielectric Double Gate Insulator Spin-Coated Using Barium Titanate Nanocrystals for an Indium Oxide Nanocrystal-Based Thin-Film Transistor

Barium titanate nanocrystals (BT NCs) were prepared under solvothermal conditions at 200 °C for 24 h. The shape of the BT NCs was tuned from nanodot to nanocube upon changing the polarity of the alcohol solvent, varying the nanosize in the range of 14-22 nm. Oleic acid-passivated NCs showed good solubility in a nonpolar solvent. The effect of size and shape of the BT NCs on the ferroelectric properties was also studied. The maximum polarization value of 7.2 μC/cm(2) was obtained for the BT-5 NC thin film. Dielectric measurements of the films showed comparable dielectric constant values of BT NCs over 1-100 kHz without significant loss. Furthermore, the bottom gate In2O3 NC thin film transistors exhibited outstanding device performance with a field-effect mobility of 11.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at a low applied gate voltage with BT-5 NC/SiO2 as the gate dielectric. The low-density trapped state was observed at the interface between the In2O3 NC semiconductor and the BT-5 NCs/SiO2 dielectric film. Furthermore, compensation of the applied gate field by an electric dipole-induced dipole field within the BT-5 NC film was also observed.

Layer-by-layer assembled PMMA-SH/CdSe–Au nanocomposite thin films and the optical limiting property

We demonstrate layer-by-layer assembly of PMMA-SH/CdSe–Au nanocomposite thin films with good transparency, thermal stability and optical liming property, which provide potential uses in laser protective devices.

Preparing non-volatile resistive switching memories by tuning the content of Au@air@TiO2-h yolk-shell microspheres in a poly(3-hexylthiophene) layer

Crystalline hybrid microspheres, encapsulating a Au nanocore in the hollow cavity of a hairy semiconductor TiO2 shell (Au@air@TiO2-h microspheres) were prepared using template-assisted synthesis methods. The as-prepared microspheres are dispersed into a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) matrix and used as a memory active layer. The electrical rewritable memory effects of Al/[Au@air@TiO2-h + P3HT]/ITO sandwich devices can be effectively and exactly controlled by tuning the microsphere content in the electroactive layer. To clarify the switching mechanism, different components in the device, such as P3HT and the microspheres, have been investigated. And it was determined that the switching mechanism can be attributed to the formation and rupture of oxygen vacancy filaments. These results suggest that the Au@air@TiO2-h microspheres are potentially capable of high density data storage. In addition, this finding could provide important guidelines for the reproducibility of nanocomposite-based memory devices and is helpful to demonstrate the switching mechanism of these devices.

Solvothermal synthesis and controlled self-assembly of monodisperse titanium-based perovskite colloidal nanocrystals

The rational design of monodisperse ferroelectric nanocrystals with controlled size and shape and their organization into hierarchical structures has been a critical step for understanding the polar ordering in nanoscale ferroelectrics, as well as the design of nanocrystal-based functional materials which harness the properties of individual nanoparticles and the collective interactions between them. We report here on the synthesis and self-assembly of aggregate-free, single-crystalline titanium-based perovskite nanoparticles with controlled morphology and surface composition by using a simple, easily scalable and highly versatile colloidal route. Single-crystalline, non-aggregated BaTiO3 colloidal nanocrystals, used as a model system, have been prepared under solvothermal conditions at temperatures as low as 180 °C. The shape of the nanocrystals was tuned from spheroidal to cubic upon changing the polarity of the solvent, whereas their size was varied from 16 to 30 nm for spheres and 5 to 78 nm for cubes by changing the concentration of the precursors and the reaction time, respectively. The hydrophobic, oleic acid-passivated nanoparticles exhibit very good solubility in non-polar solvents and can be rendered dispersible in polar solvents by a simple process involving the oxidative cleavage of the double bond upon treating the nanopowders with the Lemieux-von Rudloff reagent. Lattice dynamic analysis indicated that regardless of their size, BaTiO3 nanocrystals present local disorder within the perovskite unit cell, associated with the existence of polar ordering. We also demonstrate for the first time that, in addition to being used for fabricating large area, crack-free, highly uniform films, BaTiO3 nanocubes can serve as building blocks for the design of 2D and 3D mesoscale structures, such as superlattices and superparticles. Interestingly, the type of superlattice structure (simple cubic or face centered cubic) appears to be determined by the type of solvent in which the nanocrystals were dispersed. This approach provides an excellent platform for the synthesis of other titanium-based perovskite colloidal nanocrystals with controlled chemical composition, surface structure and morphology and for their assembly into complex architectures, therefore opening the door for the design of novel mesoscale functional materials/nanocomposites with potential applications in energy conversion, data storage and the biomedical field.

Substrate-anchored and degradation-sensitive anti-inflammatory coatings for implant materials

Implant materials need to be highly biocompatible to avoid inflammation in clinical practice. Although biodegradable polymeric implants can eliminate the need for a second surgical intervention to remove the implant materials, they may produce acidic degradation products in vivo and cause non-bacterial inflammation. Here we show the strategy of “substrate-anchored and degradation-sensitive coatings” for biodegradable implants. Using poly(lactic acid)/hydroxyapatite as an implant material model, we constructed a layer-by-layer coating using pH-sensitive star polymers and dendrimers loaded with an anti-inflammatory drug, which was immobilised through a hydroxyapatite-anchored layer. The multifunctional coating can effectively suppress the local inflammation caused by the degradation of implant materials for at least 8 weeks in vivo. Moreover, the substrate-anchored coating is able to modulate the degradation of the substrate in a more homogeneous manner. The “substrate-anchored and degradation-sensitive coating” strategy therefore exhibits potential for the design of various self-anti-inflammatory biodegradable implant materials.