1
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Zhang Y, van Schayck JP, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Claes N, Noteborn WEM, Lu PH, Duimel H, Dunin-Borkowski RE, Bals S, Peters PJ, Ravelli RBG. Charging of Vitreous Samples in Cryogenic Electron Microscopy Mitigated by Graphene. ACS Nano 2023; 17:15836-15846. [PMID: 37531407 PMCID: PMC10448747 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c03722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Cryogenic electron microscopy can provide high-resolution reconstructions of macromolecules embedded in a thin layer of ice from which atomic models can be built de novo. However, the interaction between the ionizing electron beam and the sample results in beam-induced motion and image distortion, which limit the attainable resolutions. Sample charging is one contributing factor of beam-induced motions and image distortions, which is normally alleviated by including part of the supporting conducting film within the beam-exposed region. However, routine data collection schemes avoid strategies whereby the beam is not in contact with the supporting film, whose rationale is not fully understood. Here we characterize electrostatic charging of vitreous samples, both in imaging and in diffraction mode. We mitigate sample charging by depositing a single layer of conductive graphene on top of regular EM grids. We obtained high-resolution single-particle analysis (SPA) reconstructions at 2 Å when the electron beam only irradiates the middle of the hole on graphene-coated grids, using data collection schemes that previously failed to produce sub 3 Å reconstructions without the graphene layer. We also observe that the SPA data obtained with the graphene-coated grids exhibit a higher b factor and reduced particle movement compared to data obtained without the graphene layer. This mitigation of charging could have broad implications for various EM techniques, including SPA and cryotomography, and for the study of radiation damage and the development of future sample carriers. Furthermore, it may facilitate the exploration of more dose-efficient, scanning transmission EM based SPA techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhang
- Maastricht
MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4i), Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - J. Paul van Schayck
- Maastricht
MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4i), Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Antwerp 2020, Belgium
- NANOlab
Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Claes
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Antwerp 2020, Belgium
- NANOlab
Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Willem E. M. Noteborn
- Netherlands
Centre for Electron Nanoscopy (NeCEN), Leiden
University, 2300 RS Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Peng-Han Lu
- Ernst
Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons and Peter
Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum
Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Hans Duimel
- Maastricht
MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4i), Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski
- Ernst
Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons and Peter
Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum
Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Sara Bals
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Antwerp 2020, Belgium
- NANOlab
Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Peter J. Peters
- Maastricht
MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4i), Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Raimond B. G. Ravelli
- Maastricht
MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute (M4i), Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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2
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Chen H, Xiong Y, Li J, Abed J, Wang D, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Cao Y, Zhang Y, Wang Y, Shakouri M, Xiao Q, Hu Y, Bals S, Sargent EH, Su CY, Yang Z. Epitaxially grown silicon-based single-atom catalyst for visible-light-driven syngas production. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1719. [PMID: 36977716 PMCID: PMC10050177 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37401-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Improving the dispersion of active sites simultaneous with the efficient harvest of photons is a key priority for photocatalysis. Crystalline silicon is abundant on Earth and has a suitable bandgap. However, silicon-based photocatalysts combined with metal elements has proved challenging due to silicon's rigid crystal structure and high formation energy. Here we report a solid-state chemistry that produces crystalline silicon with well-dispersed Co atoms. Isolated Co sites in silicon are obtained through the in-situ formation of CoSi2 intermediate nanodomains that function as seeds, leading to the production of Co-incorporating silicon nanocrystals at the CoSi2/Si epitaxial interface. As a result, cobalt-on-silicon single-atom catalysts achieve an external quantum efficiency of 10% for CO2-to-syngas conversion, with CO and H2 yields of 4.7 mol g(Co)-1 and 4.4 mol g(Co)-1, respectively. Moreover, the H2/CO ratio is tunable between 0.8 and 2. This photocatalyst also achieves a corresponding turnover number of 2 × 104 for visible-light-driven CO2 reduction over 6 h, which is over ten times higher than previously reported single-atom photocatalysts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huai Chen
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yangyang Xiong
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A4, Canada
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240, Shanghai, China
| | - Jehad Abed
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A4, Canada
| | - Da Wang
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Yueping Cao
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yiting Zhang
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Mohsen Shakouri
- Canadian Light Source, Inc. (CLSI), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Qunfeng Xiao
- Canadian Light Source, Inc. (CLSI), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Yongfeng Hu
- Canadian Light Source, Inc. (CLSI), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Sara Bals
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Edward H Sargent
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A4, Canada
| | - Cheng-Yong Su
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Zhenyu Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275, Guangzhou, China.
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3
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Jain N, Hao Y, Parekh U, Kaltenegger M, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Lazzaroni R, Resel R, Geerts YH, Bals S, Van Aert S. Exploring the effects of graphene and temperature in reducing electron beam damage: A TEM and electron diffraction-based quantitative study on Lead Phthalocyanine (PbPc) crystals. Micron 2023; 169:103444. [PMID: 36965270 DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2023.103444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2023]
Abstract
High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of organic crystals, such as Lead Phthalocyanine (PbPc), is very challenging since these materials are prone to electron beam damage leading to the breakdown of the crystal structure during investigation. Quantification of the damage is imperative to enable high-resolution imaging of PbPc crystals with minimum structural changes. In this work, we performed a detailed electron diffraction study to quantitatively measure degradation of PbPc crystals upon electron beam irradiation. Our study is based on the quantification of the fading intensity of the spots in the electron diffraction patterns. At various incident dose rates (e/Å2/s) and acceleration voltages, we experimentally extracted the decay rate (1/s), which directly correlates with the rate of beam damage. In this manner, a value for the critical dose (e/Å2) could be determined, which can be used as a measure to quantify beam damage. Using the same methodology, we explored the influence of cryogenic temperatures, graphene TEM substrates, and graphene encapsulation in prolonging the lifetime of the PbPc crystal structure during TEM investigation. The knowledge obtained by diffraction experiments is then translated to real space high-resolution TEM imaging of PbPc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noopur Jain
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Yansong Hao
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials, Materials Research Institute, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium
| | - Urvi Parekh
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Martin Kaltenegger
- Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria; Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Roberto Lazzaroni
- Laboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials, Materials Research Institute, University of Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgium
| | - Roland Resel
- Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Yves Henri Geerts
- Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1050 Brussels, Belgium; International Solvay Institutes of Physics and Chemistry, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sara Bals
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Sandra Van Aert
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
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4
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Parzyszek S, Tessarolo J, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Ortuño AM, Bagiński M, Bals S, Clever GH, Lewandowski W. Tunable Circularly Polarized Luminescence via Chirality Induction and Energy Transfer from Organic Films to Semiconductor Nanocrystals. ACS Nano 2022; 16:18472-18482. [PMID: 36342742 PMCID: PMC9706675 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c06623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Circularly polarized luminescent (CPL) films with high dissymmetry factors hold great potential for optoelectronic applications. Herein, we propose a strategy for achieving strongly dissymetric CPL in nanocomposite films based on chirality induction and energy transfer to semiconductor nanocrystals. First, focusing on a purely organic system, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and CPL activity of organic liquid crystals (LCs) forming helical nanofilaments was detected, featuring green emission with high dissymmetry factors glum ∼ 10-2. The handedness of helical filaments, and thus the sign of CPL, was controlled via minute amounts of a small chiral organic dopant. Second, nanocomposite films were fabricated by incorporating InP/ZnS semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) into the LC matrix, which induced the chiral assembly of QDs and endowed them with chiroptical properties. Due to the spectral matching of the components, energy transfer (ET) from LC to QDs was possible enabling a convenient way of tuning CPL wavelengths by varying the LC/QD ratio. As obtained, composite films exhibited absolute glum values up to ∼10-2 and thermally on/off switchable luminescence. Overall, we demonstrate the induction of chiroptical properties by the assembly of nonchiral building QDs on the chiral organic template and energy transfer from organic films to QDs, representing a simple and versatile approach to tune the CPL activity of organic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylwia Parzyszek
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jacopo Tessarolo
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund
University, Otto-Hahn Straße 6, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Research, University
of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan, 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab
Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ana M. Ortuño
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund
University, Otto-Hahn Straße 6, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Maciej Bagiński
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Sara Bals
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Research, University
of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan, 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab
Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Guido H. Clever
- Faculty
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund
University, Otto-Hahn Straße 6, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Wiktor Lewandowski
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteur Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
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5
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Chen H, Xu J, Wang Y, Wang D, Ferrer-Espada R, Wang Y, Zhou J, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Yang M, Tan JH, Yang X, Zhang L, Sychugov I, Chen S, Bals S, Paulsson J, Yang Z. Color-Switchable Nanosilicon Fluorescent Probes. ACS Nano 2022; 16:15450-15459. [PMID: 36107985 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c07443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Fluorescent probes are vital to cell imaging by allowing specific parts of cells to be visualized and quantified. Color-switchable probes (CSPs), with tunable emission wavelength upon contact with specific targets, are particularly powerful because they not only eliminate the need to wash away all unbound probe but also allow for internal controls of probe concentrations, thereby facilitating quantification. Several such CSPs exist and have proven very useful, but not for all key cellular targets. Here we report a pioneering CSP for in situ cell imaging using aldehyde-functionalized silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) that switch their intrinsic photoluminescence from red to blue quickly when interacting with amino acids in live cells. Though conventional probes often work better in cell-free extracts than in live cells, the SiNCs display the opposite behavior and function well and fast in universal cell lines at 37 °C while requiring much higher temperature in extracts. Furthermore, the SiNCs only disperse in cytoplasm not nucleus, and their fluorescence intensity correlated linearly with the concentration of fed amino acids. We believe these nanosilicon probes will be promising tools to visualize distribution of amino acids and potentially quantify amino acid related processes in live cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huai Chen
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Jiang Xu
- Department of Systems Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Yaping Wang
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Da Wang
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Raquel Ferrer-Espada
- Department of Systems Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Yutong Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging, Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China
| | - Jingjian Zhou
- Department of Applied Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 11419 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Mei Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging, Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China
| | - Jia-Heng Tan
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Xiaoyu Yang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, United States
| | - Lei Zhang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L3G1, Canada
| | - Ilya Sychugov
- Department of Applied Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 11419 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Shoudeng Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging, Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China
| | - Sara Bals
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Johan Paulsson
- Department of Systems Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Zhenyu Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
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6
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Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Arslan Irmak E, Kumar V, Sánchez-Iglesias A, Chen Q, Wirix M, Freitag B, Albrecht W, Van Aert S, Liz-Marzán LM, Bals S. Thermal Activation of Gold Atom Diffusion in Au@Pt Nanorods. ACS Nano 2022; 16:9608-9619. [PMID: 35687880 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c02889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the thermal stability of bimetallic nanoparticles is of vital importance to preserve their functionalities during their use in a variety of applications. In contrast to well-studied bimetallic systems such as Au@Ag, heat-induced morphological and compositional changes in Au@Pt nanoparticles are insufficiently understood, even though Au@Pt is an important material for catalysis. To investigate the thermal instability of Au@Pt nanorods at temperatures below their bulk melting point, we combined in situ heating with two- and three-dimensional electron microscopy techniques, including three-dimensional energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The experimental results were used as input for molecular dynamics simulations, to unravel the mechanisms behind the morphological transformation of Au@Pt core-shell nanorods. We conclude that thermal stability is influenced not only by the degree of coverage of Pt on Au but also by structural details of the Pt shell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ece Arslan Irmak
- EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Vished Kumar
- CIC biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Ana Sánchez-Iglesias
- CIC biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials, and Nanomedicine (CIBER- BBN), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Qiongyang Chen
- EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Maarten Wirix
- Thermo Fisher Scientific, Strijp-T, Zwaanstraat 31G, 5651 Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Bert Freitag
- Thermo Fisher Scientific, Strijp-T, Zwaanstraat 31G, 5651 Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Wiebke Albrecht
- EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sandra Van Aert
- EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Luis M Liz-Marzán
- CIC biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials, and Nanomedicine (CIBER- BBN), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Sara Bals
- EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
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7
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Heyvaert W, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Kadu A, Claes N, González-Rubio G, Liz-Marzán LM, Albrecht W, Bals S. Quantification of the Helical Morphology of Chiral Gold Nanorods. ACS Mater Lett 2022; 4:642-649. [PMID: 35400146 PMCID: PMC8986031 DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialslett.2c00055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Chirality in inorganic nanoparticles and nanostructures has gained increasing scientific interest, because of the possibility to tune their ability to interact differently with left- and right-handed circularly polarized light. In some cases, the optical activity is hypothesized to originate from a chiral morphology of the nanomaterial. However, quantifying the degree of chirality in objects with sizes of tens of nanometers is far from straightforward. Electron tomography offers the possibility to faithfully retrieve the three-dimensional morphology of nanomaterials, but only a qualitative interpretation of the morphology of chiral nanoparticles has been possible so far. We introduce herein a methodology that enables us to quantify the helicity of complex chiral nanomaterials, based on the geometrical properties of a helix. We demonstrate that an analysis at the single particle level can provide significant insights into the origin of chiroptical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Heyvaert
- EMAT
and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University
of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Ajinkya Kadu
- EMAT
and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University
of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Claes
- EMAT
and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University
of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Guillermo González-Rubio
- CIC
biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014, Donostia-San
Sebastián, Spain
- Physical
Chemistry Department, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10,
Box 714, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Luis M. Liz-Marzán
- CIC
biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014, Donostia-San
Sebastián, Spain
- Centro
de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería,
Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), 20014, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque,
Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Wiebke Albrecht
- EMAT
and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University
of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- Center
for
Nanophotonics, AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sara Bals
- EMAT
and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University
of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
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8
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Albrecht W, Arslan Irmak E, Altantzis T, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Skorikov A, Deng TS, van der Hoeven JES, van Blaaderen A, Van Aert S, Bals S. 3D Atomic-Scale Dynamics of Laser-Light-Induced Restructuring of Nanoparticles Unraveled by Electron Tomography. Adv Mater 2021; 33:e2100972. [PMID: 34247423 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202100972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Understanding light-matter interactions in nanomaterials is crucial for optoelectronic, photonic, and plasmonic applications. Specifically, metal nanoparticles (NPs) strongly interact with light and can undergo shape transformations, fragmentation and ablation upon (pulsed) laser excitation. Despite being vital for technological applications, experimental insight into the underlying atomistic processes is still lacking due to the complexity of such measurements. Herein, atomic resolution electron tomography is performed on the same mesoporous-silica-coated gold nanorod, before and after femtosecond laser irradiation, to assess the missing information. Combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on the experimentally determined 3D atomic-scale morphology, the complex atomistic rearrangements, causing shape deformations and defect generation, are unraveled. These rearrangements are simultaneously driven by surface diffusion, facet restructuring, and strain formation, and are influenced by subtleties in the atomic distribution at the surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke Albrecht
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, Utrecht, 3584 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Ece Arslan Irmak
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
| | - Thomas Altantzis
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
| | - Alexander Skorikov
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
| | - Tian-Song Deng
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, No. 1158, 2nd Avenue, Baiyang Street, Hangzhou, 310018, China
| | - Jessi E S van der Hoeven
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, Utrecht, 3584 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Alfons van Blaaderen
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, Utrecht, 3584 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra Van Aert
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
| | - Sara Bals
- EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
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9
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Borah R, Ninakanti R, Nuyts G, Peeters H, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Nuti S, Vande Velde C, De Wael K, Lenaerts S, Bals S, Verbruggen SW. Selectivity in the Ligand Functionalization of Photocatalytic Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Phase Transfer and Self-Assembly Applications. Chemistry 2021; 27:9011-9021. [PMID: 33880788 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202100029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The functionalization of photocatalytic metal oxide nanoparticles of TiO2 , ZnO, WO3 and CuO with amine-terminated (oleylamine) and thiol-terminated (dodecane-1-thiol) alkyl-chain ligands was studied under ambient conditions. A high selectivity was observed in the binding specificity of a ligand towards nanoparticles of these different oxides. It was observed that oleylamine binds stably to only TiO2 and WO3 , whereas dodecane-1-thiol binds stably only to ZnO and CuO. Similarly, polar-to-nonpolar solvent phase transfer of TiO2 and WO3 nanoparticles could be achieved by using oleylamine, but not dodecane-1-thiol, whereas the opposite holds for ZnO and CuO. The surface chemistry of ligand-functionalized nanoparticles was probed by attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-FTIR spectroscopy, which enabled the occupation of the ligands at the active sites to be elucidated. The photostability of the ligands on the nanoparticle surface was determined by the photocatalytic self-cleaning properties of the material. Although TiO2 and WO3 degrade the ligands within 24 h under both UV and visible light, ligands on ZnO and CuO remain unaffected. The gathered insights are also highly relevant from an application point of view. As an example, because the ligand-functionalized nanoparticles are hydrophobic in nature, they can be self-assembled at the air-water interface to give nanoparticle films with demonstrated photocatalytic as well as anti-fogging properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rituraj Borah
- Sustainable Energy, Air & Water Technology (DuEL), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Rajeshreddy Ninakanti
- Sustainable Energy, Air & Water Technology (DuEL), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,Electron Microscopy for Material Science (EMAT), Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Gert Nuyts
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation (AXES), Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Hannelore Peeters
- Sustainable Energy, Air & Water Technology (DuEL), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- Electron Microscopy for Material Science (EMAT), Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Silvia Nuti
- Sustainable Energy, Air & Water Technology (DuEL), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,Electron Microscopy for Material Science (EMAT), Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Christophe Vande Velde
- Intelligence in Processes, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Karolien De Wael
- NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation (AXES), Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Silvia Lenaerts
- Sustainable Energy, Air & Water Technology (DuEL), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sara Bals
- Electron Microscopy for Material Science (EMAT), Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sammy W Verbruggen
- Sustainable Energy, Air & Water Technology (DuEL), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium.,NANOlab Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
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10
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Bagiński M, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Altantzis T, Tupikowska M, Vetter A, Tomczyk E, Suryadharma RN, Pawlak M, Andruszkiewicz A, Górecka E, Pociecha D, Rockstuhl C, Bals S, Lewandowski W. Understanding and Controlling the Crystallization Process in Reconfigurable Plasmonic Superlattices. ACS Nano 2021; 15:4916-4926. [PMID: 33621046 PMCID: PMC8028333 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c09746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The crystallization of nanomaterials is a primary source of solid-state, photonic structures. Thus, a detailed understanding of this process is of paramount importance for the successful application of photonic nanomaterials in emerging optoelectronic technologies. While colloidal crystallization has been thoroughly studied, for example, with advanced in situ electron microscopy methods, the noncolloidal crystallization (freezing) of nanoparticles (NPs) remains so far unexplored. To fill this gap, in this work, we present proof-of-principle experiments decoding a crystallization of reconfigurable assemblies of NPs at a solid state. The chosen material corresponds to an excellent testing bed, as it enables both in situ and ex situ investigation using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical spectroscopy in visible and ultraviolet range (UV-vis) techniques. In particular, ensemble measurements with small-angle XRD highlighted the dependence of the correlation length in the NPs assemblies on the number of heating/cooling cycles and the rate of cooling. Ex situ TEM imaging further supported these results by revealing a dependence of domain size and structure on the sample preparation route and by showing we can control the domain size over 2 orders of magnitude. The application of HAADF-STEM tomography, combined with in situ thermal control, provided three-dimensional single-particle level information on the positional order evolution within assemblies. This combination of real and reciprocal space provides insightful information on the anisotropic, reversibly reconfigurable assemblies of NPs. TEM measurements also highlighted the importance of interfaces in the polydomain structure of nanoparticle solids, allowing us to understand experimentally observed differences in UV-vis extinction spectra of the differently prepared crystallites. Overall, the obtained results show that the combination of in situ heating HAADF-STEM tomography with XRD and ex situ TEM techniques is a powerful approach to study nanoparticle freezing processes and to reveal the crucial impact of disorder in the solid-state aggregates of NPs on their plasmonic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Bagiński
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Research, University
of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan, 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Thomas Altantzis
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Research, University
of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan, 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Martyna Tupikowska
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Andreas Vetter
- Institute
of Theoretical Solid State Physics, Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Ewelina Tomczyk
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Radius N.S. Suryadharma
- Institute
of Theoretical Solid State Physics, Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Mateusz Pawlak
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Aneta Andruszkiewicz
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
- Department
of Chemistry, Uppsala Universitet, Lägerhyddsvägen 1, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ewa Górecka
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Damian Pociecha
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Carsten Rockstuhl
- Institute
of Theoretical Solid State Physics, Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
- Institute
of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Sara Bals
- Electron
Microscopy for Materials Research, University
of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan, 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
- (S.B.)
| | - Wiktor Lewandowski
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 1 Pasteura St., 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
- (W.L.)
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11
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González-Rubio G, Mosquera J, Kumar V, Pedrazo-Tardajos A, Llombart P, Solís DM, Lobato I, Noya EG, Guerrero-Martínez A, Taboada JM, Obelleiro F, MacDowell LG, Bals S, Liz-Marzán LM. Micelle-directed chiral seeded growth on anisotropic gold nanocrystals. Science 2020; 368:1472-1477. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aba0980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo González-Rubio
- CIC biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Jesús Mosquera
- CIC biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Vished Kumar
- CIC biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Research (EMAT), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Pablo Llombart
- Departamento de Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano, CSIC, E-28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Diego M. Solís
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ivan Lobato
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Research (EMAT), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Eva G. Noya
- Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano, CSIC, E-28006 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - José M. Taboada
- Departamento de Tecnología de los Computadores y de las Comunicaciones, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
| | - Fernando Obelleiro
- Departamento de Teoría de la Se ñal y Comunicaciones, University of Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Luis G. MacDowell
- Departamento de Química Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Bals
- Electron Microscopy for Materials Research (EMAT), University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Luis M. Liz-Marzán
- CIC biomaGUNE, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
- CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
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