Title: Symmetry control of nanorod superlattice driven by a governing force

Abstract

Nanoparticle self-assembly promises scalable fabrication of composite materials with unique properties, but symmetry control of assembled structures remains a challenge. By introducing a governing force in the assembly process, we develop a strategy to control assembly symmetry. As a demonstration, we realize the tetragonal superlattice of octagonal gold nanorods, breaking through the only hexagonal symmetry of the superlattice so far. Surprisingly, such sparse tetragonal superstructure exhibits much higher thermostability than its close-packed hexagonal counterpart. Multiscale modeling reveals that the governing force arises from hierarchical molecular and colloidal interactions. This force dominates the interactions involved in the assembly process and determines the superlattice symmetry, leading to the tetragonal superlattice that becomes energetically favorable over its hexagonal counterpart.This strategy might be instructive for designing assembly of various nanoparticles and may open up a new avenue for realizing diverse assembly structures with pre-engineered properties.

Authors:

Liang, Yujia  ^[1];

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Xie, Yong ^[2]; Chen, Dongxue ^[3]; Guo, Chuanfei ^[4]; Hou, Shuai ^[5]; Wen, Tao ^[5]; Yang, Fengyou ^[3]; Deng, Ke ^[5]; Wu, Xiaochun ^[5]; Smalyukh, Ivan I.  ^[6];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-3444-1966"
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Liu, Qian ^[7]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Key Lab. of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center For Nanoscience and Technology; Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
2. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Key Lab. of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center For Nanoscience and Technology; Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center; Beihang Univ., Beijing (China). Dept. of Physics
3. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Key Lab. of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center For Nanoscience and Technology
4. Southern Univ. of Science and Technology, Shanzhen (China). Dept. of Materials
5. CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing (China). CAS Key Lab. of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology
6. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center
7. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Key Lab. of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center For Nanoscience and Technology; Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China). The MOE Key Lab. of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics and TEDA Applied Physics Inst. and School of Physics

Publication Date:

2017-11-10

Research Org.:

Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1545372

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0010305

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Nature Communications

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:

Nature Publishing Group

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English