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Step-Growth Polymerization of Inorganic Nanoparticles

Publication ,  Journal Article
Liu, K; Nie, Z; Zhao, N; Li, W; Rubinstein, M; Kumacheva, E
July 9, 2010

Self-organization of nanoparticles is an efficient strategy for producing nanostructures with complex, hierarchical architectures. The past decade has witnessed great progress in nanoparticle self-assembly, yet the quantitative prediction of the architecture of nanoparticle ensembles and of the kinetics of their formation remains a challenge. We report on the marked similarity between the self-assembly of metal nanoparticles and reaction-controlled step-growth polymerization. The nanoparticles act as multifunctional monomer units, which form reversible, noncovalent bonds at specific bond angles and organize themselves into a colloidal polymer. We show that the kinetics and statistics of step-growth polymerization enable a quantitative prediction of the architecture of linear, branched, and cyclic self-assembled nanostructures; their aggregation numbers and size distribution; and the formation of structural isomers. T he focus of nanoscience is gradually shift-ing from the synthesis of individual nano-particles (NPs) to the organization of larger nanostructures. Ensembles of NPs show optical, electronic, and magnetic properties that are determined by collective interactions of indi-vidual NPs (1). To fully understand and exploit these cooperative properties, it is important to achieve control of the structural characteristics of NP ensembles. Self-assembly has emerged as a promising, cost-efficient methodology for gen-erating different types of nanostructures (2–10). In particular, one-dimensional (1D) NP arrays have potential applications in optoelectronics (11–15) and sensing (16, 17). Currently, the lack of mod-els describing the kinetics and statistics of the self-assembly of 1D arrays does not allow the quantitative prediction of their structural features (for instance, the length of NP chains; the degree of branching; or the coexistence of rings, linear chains, and branched structures). Phase diagrams provide useful information on the equilibrium

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DOI

ISSN

1674-7305

Publication Date

July 9, 2010

Volume

329

Issue

5988

Start / End Page

197 / 200

Publisher

Springer

Related Subject Headings

  • Plant Biology & Botany
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

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Liu, K., Nie, Z., Zhao, N., Li, W., Rubinstein, M., & Kumacheva, E. (2010). Step-Growth Polymerization of Inorganic Nanoparticles, 329(5988), 197–200. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1189457
Liu, Kun, Zhihong Nie, Nana Zhao, Wei Li, Michael Rubinstein, and Eugenia Kumacheva. “Step-Growth Polymerization of Inorganic Nanoparticles” 329, no. 5988 (July 9, 2010): 197–200. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1189457.
Liu K, Nie Z, Zhao N, Li W, Rubinstein M, Kumacheva E. Step-Growth Polymerization of Inorganic Nanoparticles. 2010 Jul 9;329(5988):197–200.
Liu, Kun, et al. Step-Growth Polymerization of Inorganic Nanoparticles. Vol. 329, no. 5988, Springer, July 2010, pp. 197–200. Manual, doi:10.1126/science.1189457.
Liu K, Nie Z, Zhao N, Li W, Rubinstein M, Kumacheva E. Step-Growth Polymerization of Inorganic Nanoparticles. Springer; 2010 Jul 9;329(5988):197–200.
Journal cover image

DOI

ISSN

1674-7305

Publication Date

July 9, 2010

Volume

329

Issue

5988

Start / End Page

197 / 200

Publisher

Springer

Related Subject Headings

  • Plant Biology & Botany
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences