Heparin‐Mediated Growth of Self‐Organized ZnO Quasi‐Microspheres with Twinned Donut‐Like Hierarchical Structures

Abstract

The insight into the rational design of nanostructure with complex functionality is a significant challenge for the advanced application of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) in various areas. Herein, heparin, as a biotemplate, was introduced to manipulate growth of ZnO nanoparticle into hierarchical structures with unusual morphology. The formation process of the morphology and microstructure of the as‐achieved products were investigated. The heparin could alter nucleation and growth rates during the primary nanocrystal formation of ZnO, and promote the formation of two‐dimensional nanoplates and subsequently self‐assembly into novel quasi‐microspherical ZnO superstructures with twinned donut‐like hemispheres. The self‐assembled quasi‐microspheres displayed well crystallinity with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and a nearly uniform size‐distribution with a value of 452.9 ± 51.2 nm. The concentrations of heparin and zinc precursor played a vital role in determining the morphology of the resulting products. The possible growth mechanism of the obtained spherical like ZnO microparticles was proposed and discussed in detail. Our results are of fundamental importance to understanding crystal growth, and beneficial to promote the potential applications of ZnO with novel hierarchical structures in nanoscale devices.

Fluorescence Turn‐on Synthetic Lipid Rafts on Supramolecular Sheets and Hierarchical Concanavalin A Assembly

“…This aggregation behaviour of 3 in bulk solutions was further confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H‐NMR) measurements (500 MHz, 25 °C). In contrast with NMR spectrum of 3 in D 2 O without the sheets 1 , proton peaks associated with the aromatic units of 3 disappear in a mixture solution with the sheets 1 , indicative of the aggregation of 3 driven by the negative charges of the sheet 1 in the bulk solution (Figure f) . To further corroborate the electrostatic interactions between carboxylates of 1 and the ammonium groups of 3 rather than intercalations of the aromatic segments of 3 into the self‐assembled rods of 1 , amphiphile 2 with two amino groups at the end of flexible chains was synthesized for comparison (Figure a).…”