Seeding Nanoparticles for Hierarchical Self-Assembly

Abstract

Fabrication of high-level nanomaterials via hierarchical self-assembly of nanoparticles is of great interest for nanotechnology. However, the application of this strategy is limited by the availability of the nanoparticles or the building block with good uniformity in size and surface properties, and the driving force controlling the self-assembly. Here, we report an unexpected simple strategy to control these two factors for realizing a hierarchical self-assembly. First, similar to seeding, uniform nanoparticles are synthesized by growing “nanocells” from uniform nanoseed, the spherical micelles of surfactant. Second, appropriate shearing is employed as the driving force to induce the self-assembly of the “nanocells”. As a result, a beautiful two-dimensional hexagonal sulfur nanobrick is fabricated in this study. Moreover, it is found that the self-assembled structure of sulfur nanobrick can be stabilized by conductive agents. This study is instructive for developing a cost-effective approach for synthesizing advanced nanomaterials via hierarchical self-assembly.

Surfactant‐Mediated and Morphology‐Controlled Nanostructured LiFePO4/Carbon Composite as a Promising Cathode Material for Li‐Ion Batteries

“…Normally, the reverse tri-block copolymer micelles prefer an oval-shaped ellipsoidal structure in contrast to sphere and the interaction between micelles is predominantly repulsive. [23] Moreover, the uniformity in size [24] and surface homogeneities largely depends on the surface tension directed self-assembly in the microstructure size domain in case of Pluronic® 31R1 surfactant. There is a prominent difference between the aggregation behavior of both the surfactants, where Pluronic® P123 aggregates became nearly monodisperse at elevated temperature in contrast to Pluronic® 31R1.…”

Enhancing Multifunctionality through Secondary Phase Inclusion by Self-Assembly of Mn3O4 Nanostructures with Superior Exchange Anisotropy and Oxygen Evolution Activity

“…Among various synthesis methodologies such as hydrothermal, sol–gel, and thermal decomposition, etc., only a few could attain the self-assembly of ordered two- or three-dimensional (2D or 3D) nanostructures with monodisperse NPs, overcoming the challenge of spontaneous aggregation. While most of the Mn 3 O 4 self-assembled nanostructures were obtained by solvothermal technique aided by high pressure inside the autoclave, , there are fewer studies on self-assembled association of individual NPs into hierarchical architectures by soft chemical methods using surfactants, − and most of them result in a nonordered assembly. To the best of our knowledge, self-assemblies of Mn 3 O 4 NPs into 2D or 3D ordered architectures prepared by soft chemical methods have not been reported to date.…”