3D Volumetric Structural Hierarchy Induced by Colloidal Polymerization of a Quantum-Dot Ionic Liquid Monomer Conjugate
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Applied Research & Photonics, Inc., Harrisburg, PA (United States)
- Applied Research & Photonics, Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17111, United States
Hierarchically structured emissive quantum dot (CdS/CdSe) poly(ionic liquid) composites are synthesized through colloidal polymerization within a lyotropic liquid crystal, yielding a solvent-responsive nanoparticle (NP) composite possessing four ordered structural motifs. The composite is prepared by coassembling an amphiphilic ionic liquid (IL) monomer, 3-decyl-1-vinylimidazolium chloride, [C10VIm+][Cl-], and IL monomer, 3-(10-mercaptodecyl)-1-vinylimidazolium bromide surface-functionalized quantum dots, QD-[SC10VIm+][Br-], in 30 wt % water. Photo (UV)-initiated free radical polymerization serves to form a colloidal copolymer that collimates pairs of QDs within the core of large cylinders (average diameter = 21 nm and length = 422 nm), as evidenced by ultrasmall-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS). As revealed by continuous wave terahertz multispectral reconstructive 3-D imaging, the subsurface structure along the cylinder axis undergoes dynamic rearrangement between 2D hexagonal and cubic packing. The polymerized ionic liquid sheath surrounding the QDs is composed of concentric hexagonally perforated lamellae (HPL) with an interlamellar repeat distance of 3 nm, as determined by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The encapsulated QDs retain crystallinity (TEM and WAXS) and emission characteristics (photoluminescence spectroscopy, lambda(EM) = 638 nm). Phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau calculations verify the mesoscale cylinders arise from the topological constraints imposed by the in-plane perforations of the polymerized ionic liquid as it wraps around the hard (unmalleable) spherical QDs.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1630700
- Journal Information:
- Macromolecules, Vol. 53, Issue 8; ISSN 0024-9297
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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