School of Chemistry and Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
ACS Nano. 2013 Jun 25;7(6):4838-45. doi: 10.1021/nn305813y. Epub 2013 May 17.
In this article, we examine the phenomenon of single-crystal halide salt wire growth at the surface of porous materials. We report the use of a single-step casting technique with a supramolecular self-assembly gel matrix that upon drying leads to the growth of single-crystal halide (e.g., NaCl, KCl, and KI) nanowires with diameters ~130-200 nm. We demonstrate their formation using electron microscopy and electron-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, showing that the supramolecular gel stabilizes the growth of these wires by facilitating a diffusion-driven base growth mechanism. Critically, we show that standard non-supramolecular gels are unable to facilitate nanowire growth. We further show that these nanowires can be grown by seeding, forming nanocrystal gardens. This study helps understand the possible prefunctionalization of membranes to stimulate ion-specific filters or salt efflorescence suppressors, while also providing a novel route to nanomaterial growth.
在本文中，我们研究了多孔材料表面单晶卤化物盐线材生长的现象。我们报告了一种使用超分子自组装凝胶基质的一步铸造技术，该技术在干燥时会导致直径约为 130-200nm 的单晶卤化物（例如 NaCl、KCl 和 KI）纳米线的生长。我们使用电子显微镜和电子分散 X 射线能谱法证明了它们的形成，表明超分子凝胶通过促进扩散驱动的基底生长机制稳定了这些线材的生长。至关重要的是，我们表明标准的非超分子凝胶无法促进纳米线的生长。我们进一步表明，这些纳米线可以通过种子生长来形成纳米晶花园。这项研究有助于理解对膜进行可能的预功能化以刺激离子特异性过滤器或盐霜抑制剂，同时也为纳米材料的生长提供了一条新途径。
