scholarly journals Ultrastable liquid crystalline blue phase from molecular synergistic self-assembly

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Hu ◽  
Ling Wang ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Tingjun Zhong ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Molecular Design ◽  
Glassy State ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Phase System ◽  
Temperature Range ◽  
Blue Phase ◽  
Blue Phases

AbstractFabricating functional materials via molecular self-assembly is a promising approach, and precisely controlling the molecular building blocks of nanostructures in the self-assembly process is an essential and challenging task. Blue phase liquid crystals are fascinating self-assembled three-dimensional nanomaterials because of their potential information displays and tuneable photonic applications. However, one of the main obstacles to their applications is their narrow temperature range of a few degrees centigrade, although many prior studies have broadened it to tens via molecular design. In this work, a series of tailored uniaxial rodlike mesogens disfavouring the formation of blue phases are introduced into a blue phase system comprising biaxial dimeric mesogens, a blue phase is observed continuously over a temperature range of 280 °C, and the range remains over 132.0 °C after excluding the frozen glassy state. The findings show that the molecular synergistic self-assembly behavior of biaxial and uniaxial mesogens may play a crucial role in achieving the ultrastable three-dimensional nanostructure of blue phases.

A Dynamic Route to Structure and Function: Recent Advances in Imine-Based Organic Nanostructured Materials

2013 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Liu ◽  
Zhan-Ting Li
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Reaction System ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
The Self ◽  
Interlocked Molecules ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Imine Bond ◽  
And Function ◽  
Dynamic Route

The chemistry of imine bond formation from simple aldehyde and amine precursors is among the most powerful dynamic covalent chemistries employed for the construction of discrete molecular objects and extended molecular frameworks. The reversible nature of the C=N bond confers error-checking and proof-reading capabilities in the self-assembly process within a multi-component reaction system. This review highlights recent progress in the self-assembly of complex organic molecular architectures that are enabled by dynamic imine chemistry, including molecular containers with defined geometry and size, mechanically interlocked molecules, and extended frameworks and polymers, from building blocks with preprogrammed steric and electronic information. The functional aspects associated with the nanometer-scale features not only place these dynamically constructed nanostructures at the frontier of materials sciences, but also bring unprecedented opportunities for the discovery of new functional materials.

scholarly journals Straightforward Preparation of Supramolecular Janus Nanorods by Hydrogen Bonding of End-Functionalized Polymers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuaiyuan Han ◽  
Sandrine Pensec ◽  
Cédric Lorthioir ◽  
Jacques Jestin ◽  
Jean-Michel Guigner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Bonding ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Phase Segregation ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Functionalized Polymers ◽  
Nanometer Range ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Oil In Water ◽  
First Time

Janus cylinders are one-dimensional colloids that have two faces with different compositions and functionalities and are useful as building blocks for advanced functional materials. Such anisotropic objects are difficult to prepare with nanometric dimensions. Here we describe a robust and versatile strategy to form micrometer long Janus nanorods with diameters in the 10-nanometer range, by self-assembly in water of end-functionalized polymers. For the first time, the Janus topology is not a result of the phase segregation of incompatible polymer arms, but is driven by the interactions between unsymmetrical and complementary hydrogen bonded stickers. It is therefore independent of the actual polymers used and works even for compatible polymers. To illustrate their applicative potential, we show that these Janus nanorods can efficiently stabilize oil-in-water emulsions.

scholarly journals Ethylene glycol assisted three-dimensional floral evolution of BiFeO 3 -based nanostructures with effective magneto-electric response

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 200642
Author(s):  
Syed Kumail Abbas ◽  
Ghulam M. Mustafa ◽  
Murtaza Saleem ◽  
Muhammad Sufyan ◽  
Saira Riaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ethylene Glycol ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Bias Field ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
High Coercivity ◽  
Electric Response ◽  
Ferromagnetic Behaviour

Controlled growth of nanostructures plays a vital role in tuning the physical and chemical properties of functional materials for advanced energy and memory storage devices. Herein, we synthesized hierarchical micro-sized flowers, built by the self-assembly of highly crystalline, two-dimensional nanoplates of Co- and Ni-doped BiFeO 3 , using a simple ethylene glycol-mediated solvothermal method. Pure BiFeO 3 attained scattered one-dimensional nanorods-type morphology having diameter nearly 60 nm. Co-doping of Co and Ni at Fe-site in BiFeO 3 does not destabilize the morphology; rather it generates three-dimensional floral patterns of self-assembled nanoplates. Unsaturated polarization loops obtained for BiFeO 3 confirmed the leakage behaviour of these rhombohedrally distorted cubic perovskites. These loops were then used to determine the energy density of the BiFeO 3 perovskites. Enhanced ferromagnetic behaviour with high coercivity and remanence was observed for these nanoplates. A detailed discussion about the origin of ferromagnetic behaviour based on Goodenough–Kanamori's rule is also a part of this paper. Impedance spectroscopy revealed a true Warburg capacitive behaviour of the synthesized nanoplates. High magneto-electric (ME) coefficient of 27 mV cm −1 Oe −1 at a bias field of −0.2 Oe was observed which confirmed the existence of ME coupling in these nanoplates.

scholarly journals Diverse protein assembly driven by metal and chelating amino acids with selectivity and tunability

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minwoo Yang ◽  
Woon Ju Song
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Unnatural Amino Acid ◽  
Metal Coordination ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Natural Building ◽  
Kinetics Of

AbstractProteins are versatile natural building blocks with highly complex and multifunctional architectures, and self-assembled protein structures have been created by the introduction of covalent, noncovalent, or metal-coordination bonding. Here, we report the robust, selective, and reversible metal coordination properties of unnatural chelating amino acids as the sufficient and dominant driving force for diverse protein self-assembly. Bipyridine-alanine is genetically incorporated into a D3 homohexamer. Depending on the position of the unnatural amino acid, 1-directional, crystalline and noncrystalline 2-directional, combinatory, and hierarchical architectures are effectively created upon the addition of metal ions. The length and shape of the structures is tunable by altering conditions related to thermodynamics and kinetics of metal-coordination and subsequent reactions. The crystalline 1-directional and 2-directional biomaterials retain their native enzymatic activities with increased thermal stability, suggesting that introducing chelating ligands provides a specific chemical basis to synthesize diverse protein-based functional materials while retaining their native structures and functions.

Self-assembly of trigonal building blocks into nanostructures: molecular design and biomedical applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (31) ◽  
pp. 6739-6752
Author(s):  
Kaiqi Long ◽  
Yuwei Liu ◽  
Yafei Li ◽  
Weiping Wang
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Molecular Design ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Building Blocks

This review introduces trigonal building blocks and summarizes their structural characteristics, self-assembly ability and biomedical applications.

scholarly journals The Assembly of Porphyrin Systems in Well-Defined Nanostructures: An Update

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (23) ◽  
pp. 4307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Magna ◽  
Donato Monti ◽  
Corrado Di Natale ◽  
Roberto Paolesse ◽  
Manuela Stefanelli
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Energy Transport ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Internal Electric Field ◽  
Porphyrin Derivatives ◽  
Molecular Building Blocks ◽  
The Individual

The interest in assembling porphyrin derivatives is widespread and is accounted by the impressive impact of these suprastructures of controlled size and shapes in many applications from nanomedicine and sensors to photocatalysis and optoelectronics. The massive use of porphyrin dyes as molecular building blocks of functional materials at different length scales relies on the interdependent pair properties, consisting of their chemical stability/synthetic versatility and their quite unique physicochemical properties. Remarkably, the driven spatial arrangement of these platforms in well-defined suprastructures can synergically amplify the already excellent properties of the individual monomers, improving conjugation and enlarging the intensity of the absorption range of visible light, or forming an internal electric field exploitable in light-harvesting and charge-and energy-transport processes. The countless potentialities offered by these systems means that self-assembly concepts and tools are constantly explored, as confirmed by the significant number of published articles related to porphyrin assemblies in the 2015–2019 period, which is the focus of this review.

Self-Assembly of Proteins into Three-Dimensional Structures Using Bio-Conjugation

2014 ◽  
Vol 1663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garima Thakur ◽  
Kovur Prashanthi ◽  
Thomas Thundat
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Gold Surface ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Base Layer ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Molecular Building Blocks ◽  
Ring Structures ◽  
Self Assembled

ABSTRACTSelf–assembly of molecular building blocks provides an interesting route to produce well-defined chemical structures. Tailoring the functionalities on the building blocks and controlling the time of self-assembly could control the properties as well as the structure of the resultant patterns. Spontaneous self-assembly of biomolecules can generate bio-interfaces for myriad of potential applications. Here we report self-assembled patterning of human serum albumin (HSA) protein in to ring structures on a polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified gold surface. The structure of the self-assembled protein molecules and kinetics of structure formation entirely revolved around controlling the nucleation of the base layer. The formation of different sizes of ring patterns is attributed to growth conditions of the PEG islands for bio-conjugation. These assemblies might be beneficial in forming structurally ordered architectures of active proteins such as HSA or other globular proteins.

scholarly journals Tunable structural color of bottlebrush block copolymers through direct-write 3D printing from solution

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (24) ◽  
pp. eaaz7202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bijal B. Patel ◽  
Dylan J. Walsh ◽  
Do Hoon Kim ◽  
Justin Kwok ◽  
Byeongdu Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Size Control ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Domain Size ◽  
Direct Write ◽  
Processing Scheme ◽  
Solvent Vapor ◽  
Robust Processing

Additive manufacturing of functional materials is limited by control of microstructure and assembly at the nanoscale. In this work, we integrate nonequilibrium self-assembly with direct-write three-dimensional (3D) printing to prepare bottlebrush block copolymer (BBCP) photonic crystals (PCs) with tunable structure color. After varying deposition conditions during printing of a single ink solution, peak reflected wavelength for BBCP PCs span a range of 403 to 626 nm (blue to red), corresponding to an estimated change in d-spacing of >70 nm (Bragg- Snell equation). Physical characterization confirms that these vivid optical effects are underpinned by tuning of lamellar domain spacing, which we attribute to modulation of polymer conformation. Using in situ optical microscopy and solvent-vapor annealing, we identify kinetic trapping of metastable microstructures during printing as the mechanism for domain size control. More generally, we present a robust processing scheme with potential for on-the-fly property tuning of a variety of functional materials.

Self-assembly of water-soluble silver nanoclusters: superstructure formation and morphological evolution

Nanoscale ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (48) ◽  
pp. 19191-19200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinglin Shen ◽  
Zhi Wang ◽  
Di Sun ◽  
Guokui Liu ◽  
Shiling Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Morphological Evolution ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Silver Nanoclusters ◽  
Efficient Approach ◽  
Non Covalent Interactions ◽  
Covalent Interactions

Supramolecular self-assembly, based on non-covalent interactions, has been employed as an efficient approach to obtain various functional materials from nanometer-sized building blocks, in particular, [Ag6(mna)6]6−, mna = mercaptonicotinate (Ag6-NC).

Zeolitic Host–Guest Interactions and Building Blocks for the Self-Assembly of Complex Materials

MRS Bulletin ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 713-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Bein
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Organic Dyes ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Internal Surface ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Three Dimensional Objects ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Catalyst Systems

AbstractOrdered nanoscale pore systems such as those represented by zeolites offer many opportunities for the design of complex functional systems via self-assembly.With their large internal surface areas and tunable, well-defined crystalline pore structures that allow molecular sieving and ion exchange, zeolites can be adapted for numerous applications. The nanoscale reactors present in zeolite pore systems have been explored as structural templates for the spatial organization of numerous guests. Examples from various fields are discussed, such as the stabilization of organic dyes for the construction of energy transfer and storage systems, the construction of host–guest hybrid catalyst systems, and the encapsulation of conducting or semiconducting nanoscale wires and clusters. More complex, hierarchical forms of nanostructured matter become accessible when zeolite crystals are used as building blocks for the selfassembly of thin films or three-dimensional objects. A combination of weaker and stronger interactions ranging from dispersive forces, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions to covalent bonding can be used to build functional hierarchical constructs. Several examples and novel applications of such systems will be discussed, including oriented channel systems, chemical sensors, and hierarchical pore systems for catalytic reactions.

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