Symmetry-breaking in patch formation on triangular gold nanoparticles by asymmetric polymer grafting

Ahyoung Kim, Thi Vo, Hyosung An, Progna Banerjee, Lehan Yao, Shan Zhou, Chansong Kim, Delia J. Milliron, Sharon C. Glotzer () and Qian Chen ()
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Ahyoung Kim: University of Illinois
Thi Vo: University of Michigan
Hyosung An: University of Illinois
Progna Banerjee: Argonne National Laboratory
Lehan Yao: University of Illinois
Shan Zhou: University of Illinois
Chansong Kim: University of Illinois
Delia J. Milliron: Argonne National Laboratory
Sharon C. Glotzer: University of Michigan
Qian Chen: University of Illinois

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Synthesizing patchy particles with predictive control over patch size, shape, placement and number has been highly sought-after for nanoparticle assembly research, but is fraught with challenges. Here we show that polymers can be designed to selectively adsorb onto nanoparticle surfaces already partially coated by other chains to drive the formation of patchy nanoparticles with broken symmetry. In our model system of triangular gold nanoparticles and polystyrene-b-polyacrylic acid patch, single- and double-patch nanoparticles are produced at high yield. These asymmetric single-patch nanoparticles are shown to assemble into self-limited patch‒patch connected bowties exhibiting intriguing plasmonic properties. To unveil the mechanism of symmetry-breaking patch formation, we develop a theory that accurately predicts our experimental observations at all scales—from patch patterning on nanoparticles, to the size/shape of the patches, to the particle assemblies driven by patch‒patch interactions. Both the experimental strategy and theoretical prediction extend to nanoparticles of other shapes such as octahedra and bipyramids. Our work provides an approach to leverage polymer interactions with nanoscale curved surfaces for asymmetric grafting in nanomaterials engineering.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34246-0

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