微凝胶胶体晶体研究进展

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAM)微凝胶粒子是一种软的胶体粒子.和单分散的SiO_2、PS、PMMA等硬的胶体粒子一样,单分散的PNIPAM微凝胶粒子也可以自组装成为高度有序的胶体晶体.微凝胶粒子软物质的特性及其对外部刺激的响应性赋予其不同于硬球的组装行为.微凝胶胶体晶体的高度有序结构及其刺激响应性使其在诸多领域有重要用途.本文分别介绍了三维及二维微凝胶胶体晶体组装的研究进展,并对已开发的基于微凝胶胶体晶体的应用进行了总结.     

Modified spin-coating technique to achieve directional colloidal crystallization

Fabricating large single crystals with colloidal spheres as building blocks is challenging and of competitive interest. Spin-coating of colloids offers a robust technique, which is highly reproducible in obtaining colloidal crystals even at fast dynamical regimes; however, these crystals are intrinsically polycrystalline due to the axial symmetry of spin-coating. We report a new method that applies a nonuniform electric field during the spin-coating process. By arranging the field direction to be stationary in the rotating frame, we are able to break the axial symmetry and to orient the colloids along one predefined direction. By regulating the applied field strength, we demonstrate local control over the orientation of the crystallites, and thus, the orientation is determined by the applied field strength.     

Preparation of Stable Colloidal Crystals and Macroporous Materials Using Diazoresin as a Thermosetting Agent

Summary: Two kinds of stable colloidal crystals have been prepared from polymeric or SiO₂ colloids in the presence of diazoresin (DR) as a thermosetting agent combining thermal treatment. Following the decomposition of  Nequation/tex2gif-stack-1.gif groups of DR under heating, the ionic bonds between the DR molecules and colloids change to covalent bonds and the colloidal crystals become very stable toward ultrasonic washing. The colloids were then removed by tetrahydrofuran (THF) in the case of organics or by hydrofluoric acid (HF) for the inorganics to leave the macroporous DR materials.

Reactions between the DR molecules and the colloids during thermal treatment.     

胶体晶体自组装排列进展

自组装排列胶体晶体是发展光子晶体等亚微米周期有序结构及新型光电子器件十分重要的环节.高电荷密度单分散胶体球在较弱的离子强度和稀浓度下会自发排列形成紧密堆积的周期性结构(ccp),常常是面心立方(fcc),科学家们以此为基础发展了多种结晶化胶体粒子的方法,包括重力场沉积、电泳沉积、胶体外延技术、垂直沉积、流通池、物理束缚排列及其他的许多方法.目前排列的胶体粒子基本为球形,材料也多为SiO2、PS、PMMA,此外一些复合粒子,主要为核壳粒子的排列这里也稍作介绍,这些方法及其变通的使用可以形成类蛋白石及反蛋白石结构,最终实现光子带隙及其它多种用途。     

Synthesis of Colloidal Molecules: Recent Advances and Perspectives

The synthesis and study of colloidal molecules, that is to say clusters of a small number of colloidal entities that resemble the configuration of atoms in molecules both in constituent size and angular arrangement to that of valence shell electron pair repulsion model‐related space‐filling geometries, are of continued and significant interest. The rapid development in this research area has attracted intense interest from researchers with diverse expertise, and numerous methods towards the synthesis of colloidal molecules have been reported. In this Minireview, we attempt to give an overview of these latest developments, classifying them in processes based on controlled phase separation phenomena, on controlled surface nucleation and growth, and on controlled clustering. We also discuss the potential use of colloidal molecules as building blocks to fabricate new hierarchically organized superstructures and functional materials.     

Colloidal crystals from surface-tension-assisted self-assembly: a novel matrix for single-molecule experiments

In this work, we develop a new method of creating colloidal crystals with cavities for the entrapment and long-term observation of single biomolecules. Colloidal crystals are first fabricated using surface-tension-assisted self-assembly. Surface tension helps to reduce the interparticle distance between dispensed colloids. Subsequently, the colloids are used as a matrix in which single fluorescently tagged molecules can be tracked using fluorescence microscopy. This method has a high efficiency of self-assembly for small volumes (4 microL) of colloidal suspensions (polystyrene colloids with diameters of 1000, 500, 200, and 100 nm) at low concentration (1% w/w). The spatial hindrance effect on the diffusion of molecules and their entrapment is discussed on the basis of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy results from the diffusion of molecules with different hydrodynamic radii in the cavities of colloidal crystals formed from micrometer- to nanometer-sized polystyrene spheres. Single horseradish peroxidase molecules turning over fluorescent products are tracked over a few seconds. This shows that colloidal crystals can be used to test the function of single molecules of enzymes and protein under controlled spatial confinement.     

Endowing Zeolite LTA Superballs with the Ability to Manipulate Light in Multiple Ways

Advances in zeolites research emerging from interdisciplinary efforts have opened new opportunities beyond conventional applications. Colloids drive much current research owing to their distinct collective behaviors, but so far, using zeolites as a colloidal building block to construct ordered superstructures remains unexplored. Herein we show that self-assembly of colloidal zeolite LTA superball (ZAS) by tilted-angle sedimentation forms macroscopic films with micro-mesoporosity and 3D long-range periodicity featuring a photonic band gap (PBG) that is tunable through the superball geometry and responds reversibly to chemical vapors. Remarkably, self-assembly of ZAS at elevated temperature forms 3D chiral photonic crystals that enable negative circular dichroism, selective reflection of right-handed circularly polarized (CP) light and left-handed CP luminescence based on PBG. We present a novel class of functional colloids and zeolite-based photonic crystals with the ability to manipulate light in several ways.     

Homogeneous, core-shell, and hollow-shell ZnS colloid-based photonic crystals

Ordered ZnS-based colloidal crystals from homogeneous, core-shell, and hollow building blocks were prepared via electrosteric colloid stabilization combined with a convective assembly technique. The polyelectrolyte stabilized colloids assembled into face-centered cubic arrays with the (111) face perpendicular to the substrate. Structure-property correlations were made using scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and UV/visible/near-IR spectroscopy. Multilayer film growth, with film thickness of several micrometers, was achieved. Optical spectra showed (111) stopgaps along with pronounced higher order peaks. The spectral position of the photonic stopgap can be predicted using a volume average refractive index and the Maxwell-Garnett formula for the homogeneous and core-shell particles, respectively. This work holds the promise of harnessing ZnS for optical property engineering and enhanced photonic band gap materials.     

Nonspherical colloidal crystals fabricated by the thermal pressing of colloidal crystal chips

Nonspherical colloids and their ordered arrays may be more attractive in applications such as photonic crystals than their spherical counterparts because of their lower symmetries, although such structures are difficult to achieve. In this letter, we describe the fabrication and characterization of colloidal crystals constructed from nonspherical polyhedrons. We fabricated such nonspherical colloidal crystals by pressing spherical polymer colloidal crystal chips at a temperature slightly lower than the glass-transition temperature (T(g)) of these polymer colloids. During this process, the polymer microspheres were distinctively transformed into polyhedrons according to their crystal structures, whereas the long-range order of the 3D lattice was essentially preserved. Because a working temperature lower than T(g) effectively prevented the colloidal crystals from fusing into films, the spherical colloidal crystals were transformed greatly under pressure, which lead to obvious change in the optical properties of colloidal crystals. Besides their special symmetry and optical properties, these nonspherical colloidal crystals can be used as templates for 2D or 3D structures of special symmetry, such as 2D nano-networks. We anticipate that this fabrication technique for nonspherical colloidal crystals can also be extended to nonspherical porous materials.     

Polymer colloids in photonic materials

Exciting materials known as photonic band-gap materials have come upon the materials science scene and are being studied by many research groups around the world. These new materials operate on light in a way very analogous to the way semiconductors operate on electrons to produce very fast electronic switching and computing circuits. It is imagined that the successful fabrication of these materials will lead to computing machines operating on light and yielding the ultimate speeds in information processing, as electrons typically move only at about one tenth to one half the speed of light. Such devices will require much less heat dissipation and may lead to further miniaturization of computing circuits. New applications in diverse chemical and biochemical sensing are also emerging from these photonic materials. Separation and filtration materials and diverse mesoporous materials and composites are also being developed that rely on such photonic arrays and assemblies as fabrication templates. Polymer colloids in the size range of tens of nm to tens of microns are key components in such new materials and processes. A major limitation in the production of such new materials and devices is that fabrication of such arrays and assemblies is extremely slow and unsuitable for practical manufacturing. Crystallization of charged colloidal suspensions, annealing of core–shell particle arrays, epitaxial growth of crystals from two–dimensional templates, and annealing of thermoreversible gel particle arrays are being explored to ameliorate these limitations. To cite this article: J. Texter, C. R. Chimie 6 (2003).     

Fabrication of Polyhedral Particles from Spherical Colloids and Their Self‐Assembly into Rotator Phases

Particle shape is a critical parameter that plays an important role in self‐assembly, for example, in designing targeted complex structures with desired properties. Over the last decades, an unprecedented range of monodisperse nanoparticle systems with control over the shape of the particles have become available. In contrast, the choice of micrometer‐sized colloidal building blocks of particles with flat facets, that is, particles with polygonal shapes, is significantly more limited. This can be attributed to the fact that in contrast to nanoparticles, the larger colloids are significantly harder to synthesize as single crystals. It is now shown that a very simple building block, such as a micrometer‐sized polymeric spherical colloidal particle, is already enough to fabricate particles with regularly placed flat facets, including completely polygonal shapes with sharp edges. As an illustration that the yields are high enough for further self‐assembly studies, the formation of three‐dimensional rotator phases of fluorescently labelled, micrometer‐sized, and charged rhombic dodecahedron particles was demonstrated. This method for fabricating polyhedral particles opens a new avenue for designing new materials.     

Polystyrene@TiO2 core-shell microsphere colloidal crystals and nonspherical macro-porous materials

High-quality and stable PS@TiO(2) core-shell microsphere colloidal crystals were prepared by electrostatic colloid stabilization combined with two-substrate vertical deposition method. The polyelectrolyte stabilized colloids self-assembled into face-centered cubic arrays with the (111) face perpendicular to the substrate. These colloidal crystals are gifted with high mechanical stability toward the flow of solution. Structure-property correlations were made using scanning electron microscopy and UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. Optical spectra showed the presence of an L-stopband peak in the photonic band structure. Besides, these PS@TiO(2) colloidal crystals can be used as templates to fabricate the nonspherical macro-porous materials, and complete band gaps can be more easily obtained from such structure than from their spherical counterparts due to their lower symmetries. This work will hold the promise of enhanced photonic band gap materials.     

Discovery of Structural Complexity through Self-Assembly of Molecules Containing Rodlike Components

Hierarchical structures are important for transferring and amplifying molecular functions to macroscopic properties of materials. In this regard, rodlike molecules have emerged as one of the most promising molecular building blocks to construct functional materials. Although the self-assembly of conventional molecules containing rodlike components generally results in nematic or layered smectic phases, due to the preferred parallel arrangements of rodlike components, extensive efforts have revealed that rational molecular design provides a versatile platform to engineer rich self-assembled structures. Herein, first successes achieved in polyphilic liquid crystals and rod–coil block systems are summarized. Special attention is paid to recent progress in the conjugation of rodlike building blocks with other molecular building blocks through the molecular Lego approach. Rod-based giant surfactants, sphere–rod conjugates, and dendritic rodlike molecules are covered. Future perspectives of the self-assembly of molecules containing rodlike components are also provided.     

Recent advances in fabrication of monolayer colloidal crystals and their inverse replicas

Monolayer colloidal crystals(MCCs)are two-dimensional(2D)colloidal crystals consisting of a monolayer of monodisperse colloidal particles arrayed with a 2D periodic order.In recent years,MCCs have attracted intensive interest because they can act as 2D photonic crystals and be used as versatile templates for fabrication of various 2D nanostructure arrays.In this review,we provide an overview of the recent progress in the controllable fabrication of MCCs and their inverse replicas.First,some newly-developed methods for the self-assembly of MCCs based on different strategies including interfacial assembly and convective assembly are introduced.Second,some representative novel methods regarding the fabrication of various functional2D inverse replicas of MCCs,such as 2D arrays of nanobowls,nanocaps,and hollow spheres,as well as 2D monolayer inverse opals(MIOs),are described.In addition,the potential applications of MCCs and their inverse replicas are discussed.     

Colloidal lithographic nanopatterning via reactive ion etching

We report here a novel colloidal lithographic approach to the fabrication of nonspherical colloidal particle arrays with a long-range order by selective reactive ion etching (RIE) of multilayered spherical colloidal particles. First, layered colloidal crystals with different crystal structures (or orientations) were self-organized onto substrates. Then, during the RIE, the upper layer in the colloidal multilayer acted as a mask for the lower layer and the resulting anisotropic etching created nonspherical particle arrays and new patterns. The new patterns have shapes that are different from the original as a result of the relative shadowing of the RIE process by the top layer and the lower layers. The shape and size of the particles and patterns were dependent on the crystal orientation relative to the etchant flow, the number of colloidal layers, and the RIE conditions. The various colloidal patterns can be used as masks for two-dimensional (2-D) nanopatterns. In addition, the resulting nonspherical particles can be used as novel building blocks for colloidal photonic crystals.     

Synthesis and assembly of patchy particles: Recent progress and future prospects

The burgeoning need to fabricate new functional materials through the assembly of colloidal building blocks has motivated an intensive research focused on patchy particles. A large variety of efficient strategies to synthesize and assemble such colloids have been investigated in the last few years. Here we attempt to give an overview of these latest developments. The major limitations of current methods as well as unresolved challenges are also discussed.     

Shape‐Tailored Polymer Colloids on the Road to Become Structural Motifs for Hierarchically Organized Materials

Anisometric polymer colloids are likely to behave differently when compared with centrosymmetric particles. Their study may not only shine new light on the organization of matter; they may also serve as building units with specific symmetries and complexity to build new materials from them. Polymer colloids of well‐defined complex geometries can be obtained by packing a limited number of spherical polymer particles into clusters with defined configurations. Such supracolloidal architectures can be fabricated at larger scales using narrowly dispersed emulsion droplets as templates. Assemblies built from at least two different types of particles as elementary building units open perspectives in selective targeting of colloids with specific properties, aiming for mesoscale building blocks with tailor‐made morphologies and multifunctionality. Polymer colloids with defined geometries are also ideal to study shape‐dependent properties such as the diffusion of complex particles.

     

Electroresponsive Structurally Colored Materials: A Combination of Structural and Electrochromic Effects

Electroresponsive structurally colored materials composed of ordered arrays of polyaniline@poly(methyl methacrylate) (PANI@PMMA) core–shell nanoparticles have been successfully prepared. The core–shell nanoparticles were synthesized by deposition of PANI shells on the surfaces of the PMMA cores by the oxidative polymerization of anilinium chloride. Ordered arrays were then fabricated by using the fluidic cell method. Because the ordered arrays and the PANI shells generate structural and electrochromic colors, respectively, these core–shell colloidal crystals exhibited colors resulting from the combined effects of these materials. The crystal colors depended greatly on the size of PANI@PMMA particles and could also be varied by the application of a voltage. The electrochromic colors of these arrays were found to be quite different from those exhibited by pure PANI films prepared by electrochemical oxidation.     

A universal approach to fabricate ordered colloidal crystals arrays based on electrostatic self-assembly

We present a novel and simple method to fabricate two-dimensional (2D) poly(styrene sulfate) (PSS, negatively charged) colloidal crystals on a positively charged substrate. Our strategy contains two separate steps: one is the three-dimensional (3D) assembly of PSS particles in ethanol, and the other is electrostatic adsorption in water. First, 3D assembly in ethanol phase eliminates electrostatic attractions between colloids and the substrate. As a result, high-quality colloidal crystals are easily generated, for electrostatic attractions are unfavorable for the movement of colloidal particles during convective self-assembly. Subsequently, top layers of colloidal spheres are washed away in the water phase, whereas well-packed PSS colloids that are in contact with the substrate are tightly linked due to electrostatic interactions, resulting in the formation of ordered arrays of 2D colloidal spheres. Cycling these processes leads to the layer-by-layer assembly of 3D colloidal crystals with controllable layers. In addition, this strategy can be extended to the fabrication of patterned 2D colloidal crystals on patterned polyelectrolyte surfaces, not only on planar substrates but also on nonplanar substrates. This straightforward method may open up new possibilities for practical use of colloidal crystals of excellent quality, various patterns, and controllable fashions.     

肽基超分子胶体

肽基超分子胶体是基于肽分子间超分子作用,自发形成且具有有序分子排布及规整结构,兼具传统胶体及超分子特性的组装体系。利用超分子弱相互作用构筑功能性胶体,不仅是人们对生命组装进程深入理解的有效手段,也是实现优异的超分子材料的重要途径。肽分子具有组成明确、性能可调、生物安全性高及可降解等优势,是超分子化学、胶体与界面化学领域重要的组装基元。基于肽的超分子自组装,能够实现多尺度、多功能的生物胶体的构筑,被广泛应用于医药、催化、能源等领域。如何通过对肽序列的设计及分子间作用力的调控,实现对胶体结构和功能的精确控制,是近年来研究的重要课题之一。从分子尺度研究和揭示超分子胶体的组装过程及物理化学机制,探究胶体结构与功能的关系,是实现超分子结构和功能化的重要内容。本文基于"分子间作用的调控"及"结构与功能的关系"两个基本科学问题,系统地综述了肽基超分子胶体的组装机制、结构与功能,以及研究现状。