Self-assembly of anisotropic nanoparticles at oil/water interfaces

ORAL

Abstract

Self-assemblies of both bio- and synthetic nanorods with different aspect ratios have been studied at the oil/water interfaces. Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) shows different geometries at the perfluorodecalin/water interface as the concentration changes in the bulk. With low concentration of TMV in the aqueous phase, TMV prefers lying randomly parallel to the interface to mediate as large interfacial tension per particle as possible. At high concentration, TMV prefers standing up at the interfaces, not only mediating the interfacial tension but also neutralizing the strong electrostatic interaction between each other. The similar phenomenon has also been observed with alkyl-chain-covered Cadmium Selenide nanorods at the toluene/water interface during solvent evaporation. These assemblies can be manipulated by controlling the interfacial tensions between different liquids; the surface properties, the aspect ratio and concentration of nanoparticles; and the ionic strength in solution.

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Authors

  • Jinbo He

    Department of Polymer Science \& Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA

  • Qingling Zhang

    Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Polymer Science \& Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA

  • Suresh Gupta

    Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Polymer Science \& Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA

  • Todd Emrick

    Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Polymer Science \& Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachuestts Amherst, Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  • Thomas Russell

    University of Massachusetts, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Polymer Science \& Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst, Polymer Science and Engineering, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering,University of Massachusetts-Amherst

  • Zhongwei Niu

    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Nanocenter, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA

  • Qian Wang

    Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Univ. of South Carolina, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Univ. of South Carolina, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Nanocenter, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA