Dumbbells, chains, and ribbons: anisotropic self-assembly of isotropic nanoparticles.
Nanoscale
; 15(37): 15153-15160, 2023 Sep 29.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37671876
ABSTRACT
Functionalizing the surface of metal nanoparticles can assure their stability in solution or mediate their self-assembly into aggregates with controlled shapes. Here we present a computational study of the colloidal aggregation of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) isotropically functionalized by a mixture of charged and hydrophobic ligands. We show that, by varying the relative proportion of the two ligands, the NPs form anisotropic aggregates with markedly different topologies dumbbells, chains, or ribbons. In all cases, two kinds of connections keep the aggregates together hydrophobic bonds and ion bridges. We show that the anisotropy of the aggregates derives from the NP shell reshaping due to the formation of the hydrophobic links, while ion bridges are accountable for the "secondary structure" of the aggregates. Our findings provide a general physical principle that can also be exploited in different self-assembled systems anisotropic/directional aggregation can be achieved starting from isotropic objects with a soft, deformable surface.
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1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nanoscale
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article