Lyotropic liquid crystal directed synthesis of nanostructured materials

Wang, Cuiqing; Chen, Dairong; Jiao, Xiuling

doi:10.1088/1468-6996/10/2/023001

Cited by 81 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Kinetic trapping prevents complete phase separation, and we observe NP clusters separated by stacks of WM chains lead to morphologies which is akin percolating network (P n ) of NPs. If the WM phase was dissolved away at the end of the P n formation as in [48,49], a porous scaffold of NP micro-structure would be retained similar to what is seen in Fig.3f. Increase of σ 4n will lead to elongated structures conjoined at fewer points in space with fewer NPs in the system, and finally at σ 4n = 2.5σ, we have even fewer NPs which now form non-percolating elongated clusters (E) of NPs spanning theẑ direction: refer Fig.3g and h. Clusters grow along the nematic direction to minimize elastic energy costs paid by nematically ordered WMs to accomodate NP clusters.…”

Section: Crmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Since the background matrix is not only deformable but also prone to scission and recombination, neighbouring rod-like aggregates of NPs can also fuse at times forming porous percolating networks of extended tubular structures. In experimental realizations of our studies, these nano-structures could be stable due to van der Waals attraction even if the background micellar matrix is dissolved away by adding suitable ions in solution by reverse-micellization as in [48,49]. To our surprise, we also get a perfectly crystalline phase spanning the simulation box where both NM and the WM forming monomers form alternate lines of NP and monomers forming a closed packed structures.…”

mentioning

confidence: 76%

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Hierarchical self-assembly: Self-organized nanostructures in a nematically ordered matrix of self-assembled polymeric chains

Mubeena

Chatterji

2015

Phys. Rev. E

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We report many different nano-structures which are formed when model nano-particles of different sizes (diameter σn) are allowed to aggregate in a background matrix of semi-flexible self assembled polymeric worm like micellar chains. The different nano-structures are formed by the dynamical arrest of phase-separating mixtures of micellar monomers and nano-particles. The different morphologies obtained are the result of an interplay of the available free volume, the elastic energy of deformation of polymers, the density (chemical potential) of the nano-particles in the polymer matrix and, of course, the ratio of the size of self assembling nano-particles and self avoidance diameter of polymeric chains. We have used a hybrid semi-grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation scheme to obtain the (non-equilibrium) phase diagram of the self-assembled nano-structures. We observe rod-like structures of nano-particles which get self assembled in the gaps between the nematically ordered chains as well as percolating gel-like network of conjoined nanotubes. We also find a totally unexpected interlocked crystalline phase of nano-particles and monomers, in which each crytal plane of nanoparticles is separated by planes of perfectly organized polymer chains. We identified the condition which leads to such interlocked crystal structure. We suggest experimental possibilities of how the results presented in this paper could be used to obtain different nano-structures in the lab. There is persistent interest in the controlled self assembly and growth of nano-structures of predefined morphology and size starting from small constituent nanoparticles (NP) . A separate non-alligned interest of physicists is in the formation and properties of topological defects when large particles (large compared to the size and spacing between nematogens) are introduced in ordered liquid crystalline nematic and smectic phases [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Recents experiments have also explored the self organization of nano-particles in a background matrix of nematically ordered micellar phase, but constraints in the choice of size of NPs led to the following two scenarios: small NPs of 2 − 3 nm diameter pervade the nematic chains themselves and form a dispersion/solution, whereas, larger NPs of size 8 − 26 nm get expelled by the elastic energy of ordered nematic phases and aggregate at the grain boundaries between nematic domains [42][43][44]. The distance between adjacent nematic chains was 5.7 nm in the experiments.Our present study spans across these two different research domains and we use computer simulations to investigate the heirarchical self assembly of NPs in the free volume between parallel chains of nematically ordered worm-like micelles (WM). The micellar polymers are selfassembled themselves from monomeric beads and have a length and size distribution controlled by monomer density and temperature [45][46][47]. In a computer simulation, we are able to systematically vary the diameter, chemical potential of the spher...

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Section: Crmentioning

confidence: 79%

mentioning

confidence: 76%

Hierarchical self-assembly: Self-organized nanostructures in a nematically ordered matrix of self-assembled polymeric chains

Mubeena

Chatterji

2015

Phys. Rev. E

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“…The templates are divided into hard templates and soft templates. The commonly used hard templates usually include silica, anodic aluminium oxide (AAO), and mesoporous carbon [110]. For example, 1D TiO2 nanowire or nanotube replicas have been obtained from AAO templates and ZnO nanorod array templates [111,112]; 1D SnO2 nanotubes were synthesized by using silica mesostructures, 1D ZnO arrays, or other 1D nanomaterials as sacrificial templates [113,114], while 1D ZnO nanostructures were synthesized from AAO templates [115,116].…”

Section: Chemical Solution Growth Of 1d Nanostructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The soft templates are composed of soft compounds such as biomolecules, polymer gels, block-copolymers, fibers, and emulsions [110]. Considerable work has been done on the soft-template guided growth of 1D TiO2 nanomaterials.…”

Section: Chemical Solution Growth Of 1d Nanostructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for designing metal oxide nanostructures

2016

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There has been exponential growth in research activities on nanomaterials and nanotechnology for applications in emerging technologies and sustainable energy in the past decade. The properties of nanomaterials have been found to vary in terms of their shapes, sizes, and number of nanoscale dimensions, which have also further boosted the performance of nanomaterial-based electronic, catalytic, and sustainable energy conversion and storage devices. This reveals the importance and, indeed, the linchpin role of nanomaterial synthesis for current nanotechnology and high-performance functional devices. In this review, we provide an overview of the synthesis strategies for designing metal oxide nanomaterials in zerodimensional (0D), one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) forms, particularly of the selected typical metal oxides TiO2, SnO2 and ZnO. The pros and cons of the typical synthetic methods and experimental protocols are reviewed and outlined. This comprehensive review gives a broad overview of the synthetic strategies for designing "property-on-demand" metal oxide nanostructures to further advance current nanoscience and nanotechnology.

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“…Since the pioneering work by Attard and co-workers [1], [2], ordered mesoporous metals prepared by supramolecular assembly of surfactants as structure-directing agents have attracted interest in applications where solid/gas and solid/liquid interface plays an important role, in particular, catalysis and electrochemistry [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Precise control in the pore structure, such as pore size, wall thickness, and pore connection, of such ordered mesoporous materials should allow high rates of mass transport, an essential aspect for many applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis of ordered mesoporous ruthenium by lyotropic liquid crystals and its electrochemical conversion to mesoporous ruthenium oxide with high surface area

Sugimoto

Makino

Mukai

et al. 2012

Journal of Power Sources

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In ordered to prepare high capacitance pseudo-capacitive oxides, it is important to design nanostructures with appreciable mesopores. Supramolecular templating has become a popular method to synthesize ordered mesoporous metals; however, the application of the same technique to synthesis of high surface area oxides is more demanding. We present here, the synthesis of ordered mesoporous ruthenium metal by lyotropic liquid crystal templating and its electrochemical conversion to ordered mesoporous ruthenium oxide by a simple, room temperature procedure. The bulk, unsupported metallic ordered mesoporous ruthenium exhibits high surface area of 110 m 2 g -1 , which is comparable to typical supported Ru nanoparticles. The oxide analogue gives a high specific capacitance of 376 F g -1 , owing to the porous structure. These results demonstrate a possible facile and generic process to synthesize oxides with ordered nanostructures by utilization of the various phases that can be obtained with lyotropic liquid crystalline templates such as cubic, hexagonal, lamellar, etc. comparable to state-of-the-art, supported ruthenium nanoparticles.► Ordered mesoporous ruthenium was electrochemically converted to its oxide analogue, with high specific capacitance.

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Lyotropic liquid crystal directed synthesis of nanostructured materials

Cited by 81 publications

References 109 publications

Hierarchical self-assembly: Self-organized nanostructures in a nematically ordered matrix of self-assembled polymeric chains

Hierarchical self-assembly: Self-organized nanostructures in a nematically ordered matrix of self-assembled polymeric chains

Strategies for designing metal oxide nanostructures

Synthesis of ordered mesoporous ruthenium by lyotropic liquid crystals and its electrochemical conversion to mesoporous ruthenium oxide with high surface area

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