Chiral
Arrangement of Achiral Au Nanoparticles by
Supramolecular Assembly of Helical Nanofiber Templates
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Abstract
Chiral
materials composed of organized nanoparticle superstructures
have promising applications to photonics and sensing. Reliable customization
of the chiroptical properties of these materials remains an important
goal; hence, we report a customizable scheme making use of modular
gelator components for controlling the helicity and formation of nanofibers
over long length scales resulting in hydrogel templates. Controlled
growth of gold nanoparticles at spatially arranged locations along
the nanofiber is achieved by UV reduction of Au(I) ions on the supramolecular
templates. The resulting materials were found to have significant
interparticle interactions and well-defined helicity to provide high
quality, chiroptically active materials. With this novel approach,
the tailored assembly of nanoparticle superstructures with predictable
chiroptical properties can be realized in high yield, which we expect
to allow rapid advancement of chiral nanomaterials research