Topcu Gokhan, Al Hindawi Aula M A, Feng Cheng, Spence Daniel, Sitorus Berlian, Liu Hanqing, Ellis Andrew M, Yang Shengfu
School of Chemistry, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK.
Department of Chemistry, College of Education for Pure Science, University of Karbala, Karbala, Iraq.
Commun Chem. 2024 Jun 4;7(1):125. doi: 10.1038/s42004-024-01203-5.
The ability to precisely engineer nanostructures underpins a wide range of applications in areas such as electronics, optics, and biomedical sciences. Here we present a novel approach for the growth of nanoparticle assemblies that leverages the unique properties of superfluid helium. Unlike viscous solvents at or near room temperature, superfluid helium provides an unperturbed and cold environment in which weak van der Waals interactions between molecular templates and metal atoms become significant and can define the spatial arrangement of nanoparticles. To demonstrate this concept, diol and porphyrin-based molecules are employed as templates to grow gold nanoparticle assemblies in superfluid helium droplets. After soft-landing on a solid surface to remove the helium, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging shows the growth of gold nanoparticles at specific binding sites within the molecular templates where the interaction between gold atoms and the molecular template is at its strongest.
精确设计纳米结构的能力支撑着电子、光学和生物医学科学等领域的广泛应用。在此，我们展示了一种利用超流氦独特性质来生长纳米颗粒组件的新方法。与室温或接近室温的粘性溶剂不同，超流氦提供了一个无干扰的低温环境，在这个环境中，分子模板与金属原子之间微弱的范德华相互作用变得显著，并能够确定纳米颗粒的空间排列。为了证明这一概念，以二醇和卟啉为基础的分子被用作模板，在超流氦液滴中生长金纳米颗粒组件。在软着陆到固体表面以去除氦之后，透射电子显微镜（TEM）成像显示，在分子模板内特定的结合位点上生长出了金纳米颗粒，在这些位点上，金原子与分子模板之间的相互作用最为强烈。
