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Programmable Self-Assembly of Nanoplates into Bicontinuous Nanostructures
Hideaki Tanaka1, Tomonari Dotera1, Stephen T Hyde2,3
1Department of Physics, Kindai University, Higashiosaka City, Osaka 577-8502, Japan.
ACS Nano
|August 1, 2023
Summary
Researchers explored self-assembly of nanoplates into 3D structures. They demonstrated the creation of bicontinuous polyhedra, including chiral versions, using simulations for novel nanostructure fabrication.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Computational Chemistry
Background:
- Self-assembly is a fundamental process for creating ordered structures from nanoscale components.
- Previous research has focused on various geometric forms, but 3D structures from 2D nanoplates remained unexplored.
- Bicontinuous nanostructures are prevalent in both synthetic and biological systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the self-assembly of 2D polygonal nanoplates into 3D bicontinuous structures.
- To demonstrate the formation of faceted infinite polyhedra with compartments and corridors.
- To explore alternative routes for synthesizing complex nanostructures.
Main Methods:
- Coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulations were employed.
- The study focused on hexagonal and triangular nanoplates with complementary interactions.
- Analysis of self-assembly pathways and resulting structures was performed.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated self-assembly of hexagonal/triangular nanoplates into bicontinuous polyhedra.
- Identified two types of self-assembled structures: Petrie-Coxeter infinite polyhedra and chiral Hart gyrangles.
- Showed that the Hart gyrangle can be assembled from identical achiral triangular nanoplates.
Conclusions:
- Self-assembly of 2D nanoplates offers a novel route to 3D bicontinuous nanostructures.
- The simulated structures are faceted versions of known triply periodic minimal surfaces.
- This work opens new possibilities for designing and fabricating complex nanomaterials.
