Collapsed polymer-directed synthesis of multicomponent coaxial-like nanostructures

Zhiqi Huang, Yijing Liu, Qian Zhang, Xiaoxia Chang, Ang Li, Lin Deng, Chenglin Yi, Yang Yang, Niveen M. Khashab, Jinlong Gong, Zhihong Nie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Multicomponent colloidal nanostructures (MCNs) exhibit intriguing topologically dependent chemical and physical properties. However, there remain significant challenges in the synthesis of MCNs with high-order complexity. Here we show the development of a general yet scalable approach for the rational design and synthesis of MCNs with unique coaxial-like construction. The site-preferential growth in this synthesis relies on the selective protection of seed nanoparticle surfaces with locally defined domains of collapsed polymers. By using this approach, we produce a gallery of coaxial-like MCNs comprising a shaped Au core surrounded by a tubular metal or metal oxide shell. This synthesis is robust and not prone to variations in kinetic factors of the synthetic process. The essential role of collapsed polymers in achieving anisotropic growth makes our approach fundamentally distinct from others. We further demonstrate that this coaxial-like construction can lead to excellent photocatalytic performance over conventional core–shell-type MCNs.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalNature Communications
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 19 2016

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledgements: Z.N. gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the National Science Foundation Career Award (DMR-1255377), National Science Foundation (CHE-1505839), 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award and Startup fund from the University of Maryland. J.G. thanks National Science Foundation of China (21222604, U1463205 and 21525626), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0611), the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars (MoE) and the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (B06006) for financial support. We also acknowledge the support of the Maryland NanoCenter and its NispLab. The NispLab is supported in part by the NSF as a MRSEC Shared Experimental Facilities.

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