Structural diversity in binary superlattices self-assembled from polymer-grafted nanocrystals

Xingchen Ye, Chenhui Zhu, Peter Ercius, Shilpa N. Raja, Bo He, Matthew R. Jones, Matthew R. Hauwiller, Yi Liu, Ting Xu () and A. Paul Alivisatos ()
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Xingchen Ye: University of California
Chenhui Zhu: Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peter Ercius: National Center for Electron Microscopy, The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Shilpa N. Raja: University of California
Bo He: The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Matthew R. Jones: University of California
Matthew R. Hauwiller: University of California
Yi Liu: The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Ting Xu: University of California
A. Paul Alivisatos: University of California

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Multicomponent nanocrystal superlattices represent an interesting class of material that derives emergent properties from mesoscale structure, yet their programmability can be limited by the alkyl-chain-based ligands decorating the surfaces of the constituent nanocrystals. Polymeric ligands offer distinct advantages, as they allow for more precise tuning of the effective size and ‘interaction softness’ through changes to the polymer’s molecular weight, chemical nature, architecture, persistence length and surrounding solvent. Here we show the formation of 10 different binary nanocrystal superlattices (BNSLs) with both two- and three-dimensional order through independent adjustment of the core size of spherical nanocrystals and the molecular weight of densely grafted polystyrene ligands. These polymer-brush-based ligands introduce new energetic contributions to the interparticle potential that stabilizes various BNSL phases across a range of length scales and interparticle spacings. Our study opens the door for nanocrystals to become modular elements in the design of functional particle brush solids with controlled nanoscale interfaces and mesostructures.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10052

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