Highly Flexible Polyelectrolyte Nanotubes

Ai, Sufen; Lü, Gang; He, Qiang; Li, Junbai

doi:10.1021/ja0356378

Cited by 239 publications

(206 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Furthermore, it should be possible to reversibly switch nanoparticle self-assembly on and off in experiments -for instance by tuning temperature, or by exploiting electrostatic or depletion interactions. Controlling nanotube shape may be relevant to applications of tubular nanomaterials [17][18][19], of bioactive nanotubes [20], and in microfluidics [21]. We believe that experimental systems in which the here described coupling between nanoparticle self-assembly and nanotube deformation occurs can be readily realized.…”

mentioning

confidence: 87%

Reshaping Elastic Nanotubes via Self-Assembly of Surface-Adhesive Nanoparticles

Pàmies

Cacciuto

2011

Phys. Rev. Lett.

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Elastic sheets with macroscopic dimensions are easy to deform by bending and stretching. Yet shaping nanometric sheets by mechanical manipulation is hard. Here we show that nanoparticle self-assembly could be used to this end. We demonstrate by Monte Carlo simulation that spherical nanoparticles adhering to the outer surface of an elastic nanotube can self-assemble into linear structures as a result of curvature-mediated interactions. We find that nanoparticles arrange into rings or helices on stretchable nanotubes, and as axial strings on nanotubes with high rigidity to stretching. These self-assembled structures are inextricably linked to a variety of deformed nanotube profiles, which can be controlled by tuning the concentration of nanoparticles, the nanoparticle-nanotube diameter ratio and the elastic properties of the nanotube. Our results open the possibility of designing nanoparticle-laden tubular nanostructures with tailored shapes, for potential applications in materials science and nanomedicine.Direct mechanical manipulation can make macroscopic sheets conform to specific shapes. However, it is difficult to use mechanical means to reshape sheets with sizes in the micrometer range and smaller. An alternative at submicrometric scales would be the use of adhesive nanoparticles that induce local deformation and may catalyze global shape changes. Indeed, nanoparticles have been shown to drive the folding of graphene [1], of thin films of silicon [2] and carbon nanotubes [3], the budding of fluid membranes by protein aggregation [4,5], and the deformation of vesicles via the adhesion of nanoparticles [6,7].When nanoparticles adhere and deform a surface, effective, curvature-mediated nanoparticle interactions arise as a result of the tendency of the surface to minimize the deformation caused by the nanoparticle imprints. One of the first studies of curvature-mediated interactions was that of Goulian and colleagues [8], who calculated such effects in the context of protein aggregation in biological membranes. The effective pair interaction in fluid membranes is usually isotropic, has a Casimir-like functional dependence on particle separation [9] and a nontrivial dependence on the protein shape. However, for elastic (tethered) surfaces, the overall effect of the forces at play is more complicated. Unlike fluid surfaces, which cannot withstand shear, elastic thin sheets can stretch in response to the forces applied by strongly adhering nanoparticles. If the nanoparticles are able to diffuse on the sheet, they should be able to self-assemble in a configuration that reduces the mechanical cost of deforming the surface. However, the stretching energy associated with tethered surfaces imposes global geometric constraints to nanoparticle arrangements, and this leads to nontrivial many-body effects that extend across the surface. We expect the effective nanoparticle interactions to depend on the bending and stretching rigidities of the surface, its topology, and the relative location and specific extent of the local ...

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mentioning

confidence: 87%

Reshaping Elastic Nanotubes via Self-Assembly of Surface-Adhesive Nanoparticles

Pàmies

Cacciuto

2011

Phys. Rev. Lett.

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“…Most of them have been prepared using former method, such as Polyamide 6, Poly-L-lactide (PLLA), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Poly (vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF), and so on, 2,[4][5][6]8 and some of them have been prepared by the latter one. 3,[9][10][11] However, the preparation of non-polar polymer nanotubes has rarely been reported.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Polar Polymer Nanotubes and Nanowires Fabricated by Wetting Anodic Aluminium Oxide Template

She

Gao

et al. 2006

Polym J

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ABSTRACT:Non-polar polymer nanotubes and nanowires were fabricated using nanoporous Anodic Aluminium Oxide (AAO) template via a physical wetting of the polymer solution and melt. Testing results of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) demonstrate that non-polar polymer nanotubes can be prepared by polymer solution, while nanotubes and nanowires can be obtained by polymer melt at higher temperature and at lower temperature respectively. As for melt wetting method, there is a critical temperature for preparing nanotubes, and the structure of products depends on the viscosity and flowability of the polymer melt. The mechanism of melt wetting method is also discussed. In recent years, one-dimension (1D) polymer nanomaterials, such as nanotubes, nanowires and nanocables, have attracted considerable attention because of their outstanding functions and special applications. Especially, polymer nanotubes has attracted growing research interest due to their novel properties and wide potential application for nanodevices.

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“…Recently many advances have been made in the fabrication of non-carbon-based nanotubes such as the use of various chemical precursors and different synthetic approaches [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. However, nanotubes are still made by multi-step processes [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] using strategies such as the template method and the molecular self-assembly method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, nanotubes are still made by multi-step processes [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] using strategies such as the template method and the molecular self-assembly method. Also, several attempts have been made toward hollow nanofiber design using the approach of electrospinning [9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a Polymer Blend for One-Step Porous Fiber Fabrication

Mishra¹,

Yu²,

Molnar³

et al. 2009

Designed Monomers and Polymers

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We demonstrate a novel polymer blend derived from a hydrophobic poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC) and a hydrophilic poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) that forms a porous fiber in a single step by melt spinning. Polymer fibers of PAA, PVAC, and fibers made of 40:60, 50:50 and 60:40 PVAC/PAA blends were melt-spun and examined with the use of transmitted light microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The morphology of melt-spun fibers made from PAA and from PVAC were solid fibers. Fibers melt-spun from the polymer blends of 40%, 50% and 60% PVAC with PAA making the remainder of 100% consisted of a honeycombed, porous fiber structure with some internal cell to cell interconnectivity. It is also noteworthy to mention that fibers melt-spun from PAA only and from PVAC only were very fragile and were difficult to make. However, fibers from the novel blend of PAA and PVAC were spinnable and formed porous fibers that maintained their fiber integrity.

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Highly Flexible Polyelectrolyte Nanotubes

Cited by 239 publications

References 16 publications

Reshaping Elastic Nanotubes via Self-Assembly of Surface-Adhesive Nanoparticles

Reshaping Elastic Nanotubes via Self-Assembly of Surface-Adhesive Nanoparticles

Non-Polar Polymer Nanotubes and Nanowires Fabricated by Wetting Anodic Aluminium Oxide Template

Design of a Polymer Blend for One-Step Porous Fiber Fabrication

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