184 research outputs found
Constructing nanocrystal-in-glass composites for smart windows
The integration of inorganic nanocrystals as building units into mesoscale architectures yields materials wherein the components and their interfaces are both essential in defining structure and function. Randomly mesostructured nanocrystal-in-amorphous niobia composites can be formed by chemically linking niobium polyoxometalate (POM) clusters to colloidal nanocrystals in the solution phase. When films of these assemblies are thermally annealed, the clusters undergo condensation. They cross-link to form a continuous amorphous niobia matrix surrounding, and covalently linked to, the embedded nanocrystals. The resulting composite materials combine intrinsic characteristics of each component and exhibit unique functionality that we ascribe to reconstruction at the nanocrystal-glass interface. An architected nanocomposite can instead be formed when the arrangement of the nanocrystals into a mesoporous framework is accomplished first, using a block copolymer template. In this case, POMs are in-filled in a second step, then annealed to form the nanocrystal-niobia glass composite. Our composite metal oxide thin films exhibit a unique optical switching response to electrochemical reduction. Namely, they independently control the transmittance of visible and near infrared light as a function of voltage. These results highlight the tremendous opportunity to tune structure at both the atomic and nanometer length scales to realize new functionality
Dynamics of equilibrium linked colloidal gels
Colloids that attractively bond to only a few neighbors (e.g., patchy
particles) can form equilibrium gels with distinctive dynamic properties that
are stable in time. Here, we use a coarse-grained model to explore the dynamics
of linked networks of patchy colloids whose average valence is macroscopically,
rather than microscopically, constrained. Simulation results for the model show
dynamic hallmarks of equilibrium gel formation and establish that the
colloid-colloid bond persistence time controls the characteristic slow
relaxation of the self-intermediate scattering function. The model features
re-entrant network formation without phase separation as a function of linker
concentration, centered at the stoichiometric ratio of linker ends to
nanoparticle surface bonding sites. Departures from stoichiometry result in
linker-starved or site-starved networks with reduced connectivity and shorter
characteristic relaxation times with lower activation energies. Underlying the
re-entrant trends, dynamic properties vary monotonically with the number of
effective network bonds per colloid, a quantity that can be predicted using
Wertheim's thermodynamic perturbation theory. These behaviors suggest
macroscopic in situ strategies for tuning the dynamical response of colloidal
networks.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figure
Intrinsic Optical and Electronic Properties from Quantitative Analysis of Plasmonic Semiconductor Nanocrystal Ensemble Optical Extinction
The optical extinction spectra arising from localized surface plasmon
resonance in doped semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) have intensities and
lineshapes determined by free charge carrier concentrations and the various
mechanisms for damping the oscillation of those free carriers. However, these
intrinsic properties are convoluted by heterogeneous broadening when measuring
spectra of ensembles. We reveal that the traditional Drude approximation is not
equipped to fit spectra from a heterogeneous ensemble of doped semiconductor
NCs and produces fit results that violate Mie scattering theory. The
heterogeneous ensemble Drude approximation (HEDA) model rectifies this issue by
accounting for ensemble heterogeneity and near-surface depletion. The HEDA
model is applied to tin-doped indium oxide NCs for a range of sizes and doping
levels but we expect it can be employed for any isotropic plasmonic particles
in the quasistatic regime. It captures individual NC optical properties and
their contributions to the ensemble spectra thereby enabling the analysis of
intrinsic NC properties from an ensemble measurement. Quality factors for the
average NC in each ensemble are quantified and found to be notably higher than
those of the ensemble. Carrier mobility and conductivity derived from HEDA fits
matches that measured in the bulk thin film literature
Tuning Nanocrystal Surface Depletion by Controlling Dopant Distribution as a Route Toward Enhanced Film Conductivity
Electron conduction through bare metal oxide nanocrystal (NC) films is
hindered by surface depletion regions resulting from the presence of surface
states. We control the radial dopant distribution in tin-doped indium oxide
(ITO) NCs as a means to manipulate the NC depletion width. We find in films of
ITO NCs of equal overall dopant concentration that those with dopant-enriched
surfaces show decreased depletion width and increased conductivity. Variable
temperature conductivity data shows electron localization length increases and
associated depletion width decreases monotonically with increased density of
dopants near the NC surface. We calculate band profiles for NCs of differing
radial dopant distributions and, in agreement with variable temperature
conductivity fits, find NCs with dopant-enriched surfaces have narrower
depletion widths and longer localization lengths than those with
dopant-enriched cores. Following amelioration of NC surface depletion by atomic
layer deposition of alumina, all films of equal overall dopant concentration
have similar conductivity. Variable temperature conductivity measurements on
alumina-capped films indicate all films behave as granular metals. Herein, we
conclude that dopant-enriched surfaces decrease the near-surface depletion
region, which directly increases the electron localization length and
conductivity of NC films
Assembly of colloidal nanocrystals into open networks
Inorganic nanocrystals exhibit a wide variety of optical, electronic, chemical, and electrochemical functionality that is synthetically tunable based on their size and composition. Their properties and emerging methods for functionalizing their surfaces with specific chemical agents pose the exciting prospect to program the assembly of nanostructured materials whose properties depend intimately on both the characteristics of the building
blocks and the mesoscale organization of these in the assembly. In this presentation, I describe novel strategies for assembling optically active nanocrystals into organized gel networks. In particular, theoretical frameworks predict open gel architectures when the extent of inter-particle bonding (i.e. valence) is constrained.[1] To achieve a chemically tunable valence, we functionalized semiconductor nanocrystals with highly charged chalcogenidometallates clusters that induce long range repulsive interactions.[2] The addition of controlled amounts of a cationic crosslinking agent determines the assembly of the nanocrystals into a low volume fraction gel. In another assembly strategy, short range attractive forces are induced between charge-stabilized nanocrystal colloids by the introduction of oligomeric polyethylene glycol (PEG). At low PEG concentrations, it can crosslink nanocrystals into a gel. At higher concentrations, PEG effectively passivates the nanocrystal surfaces, yet excess PEG can induce gel network assembly through the depletion attraction. The organization of the gel networks is characterized by small angle X-ray scattering, from which the fractal dimension that describes the gel topology is determined. We present an integrated approach leveraging theory, synthesis, characterization, and simulation to predict, realize, and analyze the formation of low volume fraction gels from colloidal nanocrystals with unusual optical properties in the visible and infrared spectral ranges.
References:
[1] BA Lindquist, RB Jadrich, DJ Milliron, TM Truskett, “On the Formation of Equilibrium Gels via a Macroscopic Bond Limitation,” J. Chem. Phys. 145 (2016), 074906.
[2] A Singh, BA Lindquist, GK Ong, RB Jadrich, A Singh, H Ha, CJ Ellison, TM Truskett, DJ Milliron, “Linking Semiconductor Nanocrystals into Gel Networks through All-Inorganic Bridges,” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 54 (2015), 14840-14844
Wertheim’s thermodynamic perturbation theory with double- bond association and its application to colloid–linker mixtures
We extend Wertheim’s thermodynamic perturbation theory to derive the association free energy of a multicomponent mixture for which
double bonds can form between any two pairs of the molecules’ arbitrary number of bonding sites. This generalization reduces in limiting
cases to prior theories that restrict double bonding to at most one pair of sites per molecule. We apply the new theory to an associating mixture
of colloidal particles (“colloids”) and flexible chain molecules (“linkers”). The linkers have two functional end groups, each of which may bond
to one of several sites on the colloids. Due to their flexibility, a significant fraction of linkers can “loop” with both ends bonding to sites on the
same colloid instead of bridging sites on different colloids. We use the theory to show that the fraction of linkers in loops depends sensitively
on the linker end-to-end distance relative to the colloid bonding-site distance, which suggests strategies for mitigating the loop formation that
may otherwise hinder linker-mediated colloidal assembly.This research was primarily supported by the
National Science Foundation through the Center for Dynamics and
Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC under Cooperative Agree-
ment No. DMR-1720595, with additional support from an Arnold
O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship (Z.M.S.) and the Welch Foun-
dation (Grant Nos. F-1696 and F-1848).Center for Dynamics and Control of Material
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