Nanoscale Faceting and Ligand Shell Structure Dominate the Self-Assembly of Non-Polar Nanoparticles into Superlattices
- Self-assembly of nanoscale structures at liquid-solid interfaces occurs in a broad range of industrial processes and is found in various phenomena in nature. Conventional theory assumes spherical particles and homogeneous surfaces, but that model is oversimplified, and nanoscale in-situ observations are needed for a more complete understanding. We used liquid phase scanning transmission electron microscopy (LP-STEM) to examine the interactions that direct the self-assembly of superlattices formed by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in non-polar liquids. Varying the molecular coating of the substrate modulated short-ranged attraction and led to switching between a range of different geometric structures including hexagonal close-packed (hcp), simple hexagonal (sh), dodecahedral quasi-crystal (dqc), and body-centered cubic (bcc) lattices, as well as random distributions. Langevin dynamics simulations explain the experimental results in terms of the interplay between nanoparticle faceting, ligand shell structure, and substrate-NP-interactions.
Document Type: | Article |
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Author: | Arixin BoORCiD, Yawei LiuORCiD, Björn KuttichORCiD, Tobias KrausORCiD, Asaph Widmer-CooperORCiD, Niels de JongeORCiD |
URN: | urn:nbn:de:bsz:291:415-703 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202109093 |
Parent Title (English): | Advanced materials |
Volume: | 34 |
Issue: | 20 |
First Page: | 2109093 |
Language: | English |
Year of first Publication: | 2022 |
Release Date: | 2022/08/03 |
Tag: | liquid phase electron microscopy; nanoparticle faceting; self-assembly; superlattice; surface modification |
Impact: | 29.40 (2022) |
Funding Information: | Australian Research Council. Grant Number: CE170100026 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft |
Scientific Units: | Innovative Electron Microscopy |
Structure Formation | |
DDC classes: | 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 660 Technische Chemie |
Open Access: | Open Access |
Signature: | INM 2022/036 |
Licence (German): | Creative Commons - CC BY-NC - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell 4.0 International |