Laboratory of Organic Nanomaterials and Biomolecules, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1 Street, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland.
Laboratory of Physicochemistry of Dielectrics and Magnetics, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, wirki i Wigury 101 Street, 02-089, Warsaw, Poland.
Small. 2019 Sep;15(37):e1902807. doi: 10.1002/smll.201902807. Epub 2019 Jul 26.
Robust synthesis of large-scale self-assembled nanostructures with long-range organization and a prominent response to external stimuli is critical to their application in functional plasmonics. Here, the first example of a material made of liquid crystalline nanoparticles which exhibits UV-light responsive surface plasmon resonance in a condensed state is presented. To obtain the material, metal cores are grafted with two types of organic ligands. A promesogenic derivative softens the system and induces rich liquid crystal phase polymorphism. Second, an azobenzene derivative endows nanoparticles with photoresponsive properties. It is shown that nanoparticles covered with a mixture of these ligands assemble into long-range ordered structures which exhibit a novel dual-responsivity. The structure and plasmonic properties of the assemblies can be controlled by a change in temperature as well as by UV-light irradiation. These results present an efficient way to obtain bulk quantities of self-assembled nanostructured materials with stability that is unattainable by alternative methods such as matrix-assisted or DNA-mediated organization.
具有长程有序结构和对外界刺激显著响应的大规模自组装纳米结构的稳健合成对于它们在功能等离子体学中的应用至关重要。在这里，首次展示了一种由液晶纳米粒子组成的材料，该材料在凝聚态下表现出对紫外光响应的表面等离子体共振。为了得到这种材料，金属核被两种类型的有机配体接枝。一个前液晶衍生物使体系软化，并诱导丰富的液晶相多态性。其次，一个偶氮苯衍生物赋予纳米粒子光响应性能。结果表明，用这些配体的混合物覆盖的纳米粒子组装成长程有序结构，表现出一种新的双重响应性。组装体的结构和等离子体特性可以通过温度变化以及紫外光照射来控制。这些结果提供了一种有效的方法来获得大量具有稳定性的自组装纳米结构材料，这是通过其他方法如基质辅助或 DNA 介导的组织无法实现的。
