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Controlling the Large-Scale Fabrication of Supraparticles
Alexander Plunkett1, Catriona Eldridge2, Gerold A Schneider1
1Institute of Advanced Ceramics, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg 21073, Germany.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B
|November 19, 2020
Summary
Researchers optimized emulsion-templated self-assembly (ETSA) for creating supraparticles. This method controls supraparticle size and properties, enabling scalable synthesis of advanced nanomaterials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- Colloid and Interface Science
Background:
- Controlling nanoscale interactions of colloidal building blocks is crucial for creating architected morphologies and functional materials.
- Solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly in emulsion droplets is a promising method for synthesizing complex structures like supraparticles.
- Understanding the process-structure relationships in emulsion-templated self-assembly (ETSA) is essential for optimizing supraparticle synthesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of various physicochemical parameters of ETSA on supraparticle formation.
- To elucidate how surfactant formulation, stabilization mechanism, and emulsion viscosity influence supraparticle characteristics.
- To develop a scalable ETSA method for controlled synthesis of supraparticles with defined sizes.
Main Methods:
- Exploration of emulsion-templated self-assembly (ETSA) by varying surfactant formulations, stabilization mechanisms, and emulsion viscosities.
- Characterization of supraparticle properties including size, size dispersity, microporosity, and sample homogeneity.
- Optimization of a transferable, large-scale (gram-size) ETSA setup for controlled supraparticle synthesis.
Main Results:
- Physicochemical parameters significantly affect supraparticle size, size dispersity, microporosity, and homogeneity.
- Surfactant formulation, stabilization mechanism, and emulsion viscosity were identified as key factors controlling supraparticle characteristics.
- A scalable ETSA setup was optimized to synthesize spherical supraparticles with controlled sizes ranging from 0.1 to 10 μm.
Conclusions:
- Key synthetic parameters for controlling ETSA were identified, enabling predictable supraparticle formation.
- The study provides a framework for the controlled, large-scale synthesis of supraparticles.
- These findings facilitate the development of supraparticle-based functional nanomaterials for diverse applications.
