Abstract

Nanoparticle self-assembly promises scalable fabrication of composite materials with unique properties, but symmetry control of assembled structures remains a challenge. By introducing a governing force in the assembly process, we develop a strategy to control assembly symmetry. As a demonstration, we realize the tetragonal superlattice of octagonal gold nanorods, breaking through the only hexagonal symmetry of the superlattice so far. Surprisingly, such sparse tetragonal superstructure exhibits much higher thermostability than its close-packed hexagonal counterpart. Multiscale modeling reveals that the governing force arises from hierarchical molecular and colloidal interactions. This force dominates the interactions involved in the assembly process and determines the superlattice symmetry, leading to the tetragonal superlattice that becomes energetically favorable over its hexagonal counterpart. This strategy might be instructive for designing assembly of various nanoparticles and may open up a new avenue for realizing diverse assembly structures with pre-engineered properties.

Details

Title
Symmetry control of nanorod superlattice driven by a governing force
Author
Liang, Yujia 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Xie, Yong 2 ; Chen, Dongxue 3 ; Guo, Chuanfei 4 ; Hou, Shuai 5 ; Wen, Tao 5 ; Yang, Fengyou 3 ; Deng, Ke 5 ; Wu, Xiaochun 5 ; Smalyukh, Ivan I 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Liu, Qian 7 

1  Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA 
2  Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China; Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA; Department of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing, China 
3  Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China 
4  Department of Materials, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China 
5  CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China 
6  Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA 
7  Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China; The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics and TEDA Applied Physics Institute and School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, China 
Pages
1-8
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Nov 2017
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01111-4
ProQuest document ID
1962258905
Copyright
© 2017. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.