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Formation pathways of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with dodecagonal tiling
Yao Sun1, Kai Ma1, Teresa Kao1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
Nature Communications
|August 17, 2017
Summary
Researchers synthesized dodecagonal quasicrystalline nanoparticles by controlling micelle packing. This breakthrough allows observation of early quasicrystal growth, offering insights into self-assembly processes for novel material design.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Crystallography
Background:
- Quasicrystals exhibit unique properties but observing their formation is difficult.
- Developing chemistries for direct observation of quasicrystal growth pathways is a key challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize surfactant-directed mesoporous silica nanoparticle structures, including dodecagonal quasicrystals.
- To investigate early quasicrystal growth pathways through controlled synthesis.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with varying micelle pore expander concentration and stirring rates.
- Controlled nanoparticle size reduction to below 30 nm for detailed analysis.
- Comparison of experimental results with simulated single-particle growth trajectories.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized four mesoporous silica nanoparticle structures, including dodecagonal quasicrystalline nanoparticles.
- Preserved early formation stages of dodecagonal quasicrystalline mesoporous silica nanoparticles.
- Identified building block size distributions and their role in promoting quasicrystal formation.
- Demonstrated dodecagonal tiling via irreversible packing of non-uniformly sized micelles.
Conclusions:
- Simple synthetic parameters like stirring rate can be controlled to design quasicrystal-forming self-assembly chemistries.
- Understanding early growth stages provides insights into quasicrystal formation mechanisms.
- This method facilitates the study of quasicrystal growth pathways in mesoporous silica nanoparticles.
