Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Carbon Dots into High-Aspect-Ratio Nanowires

Habteyes, Terefe G.; Westphal, Eric Robert; Plackowski, Kenneth Michael; Kotula, Paul G.; Meyerson, Melissa Lynn; White, Stephanie L.; Corbin, William Cody; Ghosh, Koushik; Grey, John Kenneth

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02977

Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Carbon Dots into High-Aspect-Ratio Nanowires

Journal Article · Fri Oct 13 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Nano Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02977· OSTI ID:2311341

^[1]; ^[2]; Plackowski, Kenneth Michael ^[3]; Kotula, Paul G. ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]

Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Here, we report a spontaneous and hierarchical self-assembly mechanism of carbon dots prepared from citric acid and urea into nanowire structures with large aspect ratios (>50). Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) with broadly tunable mid-IR excitation was used to interrogate details of the self-assembly process by generating nanoscopic chemical maps of local wire morphology and composition. s-SNOM images capture the evolution of wire formation and the complex interplay between different chemical constituents directing assembly over the nano- to microscopic length scales. We propose that residual citrate promotes tautomerization of melamine surface functionalities to produce supramolecular shape synthons comprised of melamine-cyanurate adducts capable of forming long-range and highly directional hydrogen-bonding networks. This intrinsic, heterogeneity-driven self-assembly mechanism reflects synergistic combinations of high chemical specificity and long-range cooperativity that may be harnessed to reproducibly fabricate functional structures on arbitrary surfaces.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 2311341

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2566722

Report Number(s):: SAND--2023-13189J; SAND--2025-05984J

Journal Information:: Nano Letters, Journal Name: Nano Letters Journal Issue: 20 Vol. 23; ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Carbon Dots into High-Aspect-Ratio Nanowires

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