Janus hollow spheres by emulsion interfacial self-assembled sol-gel process

Janus hollow silica spheres with an asymmetric shell are synthesized by self-assembled sol-gel process at an emulsion interface, and desired materials can be preferentially laden inside the cavities from their surroundings.     

Synthesis of colloidal silica dumbbells

We describe the synthesis and characterization of stable suspensions of monodisperse fluorescently labeled silica dumbbell particles. Pure dispersions of silica dumbbells with center-to-center lengths from 174 nm to 2.3 microm were produced with a variety of aspect ratios. Individual particles in concentrated dispersions of these particles could be imaged with confocal microscopy. These particles can be used as a colloidal model system for addressing fundamental questions about crystal and glass formation of low-aspect-ratio anisotropic particles. They also have potential in photonic applications and electro-optical devices.     

Crystal nucleation of colloidal hard dumbbells

Using computer simulations, we investigate the homogeneous crystal nucleation in suspensions of colloidal hard dumbbells. The free energy barriers are determined by Monte Carlo simulations using the umbrella sampling technique. We calculate the nucleation rates for the plastic crystal and the aperiodic crystal phase using the kinetic prefactor as determined from event driven molecular dynamics simulations. We find good agreement with the nucleation rates determined from spontaneous nucleation events observed in event driven molecular dynamics simulations within error bars of one order of magnitude. We study the effect of aspect ratio of the dumbbells on the nucleation of plastic and aperiodic crystal phases, and we also determine the structure of the critical nuclei. Moreover, we find that the nucleation of the aligned close-packed crystal structure is strongly suppressed by a high free energy barrier at low supersaturations and slow dynamics at high supersaturations.     

Nanorings from the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecular dumbbells

We have prepared amphiphilic dumbbell molecules consisting of hydrophobic alkyl chains and hydrophilic oligoether dendrons at each end of the rod segment. The molecular dumbbells, in aqueous solution, self-assemble into toroids as an intermediate nanostructure between spherical and long cylindrical micelles. The formation of toroidal structure is likely to originate from side by side connections of discrete bundles through the combination of strong hydrophobic interactions and anisotropic aggregation of rod segments.     

Equations of state of mixtures of hard dumbbells

Two ways to predict pVT behavior of hard-dumbbell mixtures in the fluid region are proposed. These are adaptations of the hard convex body equation devised by Boublik and an extension of the first Barker-Henderson perturbation theory. Calculated compressibility factors show good agreement with the ideal mixing assumption and yield a useful equation of state.     

Thermosensitive gold nanoparticles

Thermosensitive gold nanoparticles were fabricated by conjugating Au with a thiol-terminated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) or PPA; this polymer stabilizer exhibits a temperature transition while undergoing a hydrophilic to hydrophobic transformation. The introduction of PPA onto gold nanoparticles has sensitized Au nanoparticles with unique temperature dependence. At low temperature (25 degrees C), the solutions containing PPA-functionalized gold nanoparticles are transparent, whereas higher temperatures (30 degrees C) lead to opaque suspensions. The thermosensitive property of PPA-functionalized Au nanoparticles is reversible, and the clear-opaque suspensions can be repeated many times.     

Thermosensitive PEGylated Polypeptides

Summary: We report a thermosensitive polypeptide consisting of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol)s and hydrophobic phenyl alanine ethyl esters. It is soluble in most solvents and undergoes a micelle (radius ≈ 10 nm) to nanoparticle (radius ≈ 100 nm) transition in water as the temperature increases. The transition temperature could be controlled to between 30 and 40 °C by varying the number of poly(ethylene glycol) grafts. This system might be promising for advanced drug delivery.

Measurement of the lower critical solution temperatures of PEG‐PP aqueous solutions (1.0 wt.‐%).     

Thermosensitive biodegradable polydepsipeptide

A poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-like biodegradable thermosensitive polydepsipeptide, poly[Glc-Asn(N-isopropyl)], was synthesized by introducing an isopropyl amide group into poly[Glc-Asn]. Poly[Glc-Asn(N-isopropyl)] was degraded in vitro by cleavage of the ester bonds in the main chain in water at room temperature. The non-toxic nature of the polymer and its degradation products, coupled with a cloud point at 29 degrees C in water, make this polymer attractive for biomedical implant applications.     

Thermosensitive hard spheres

We demonstrate an extension of a UV-Vis spectroscopy method to determine the phase boundaries for thermosensitive colloids as an alternative to the time-consuming sedimentation method. The Bragg attenuation peak from colloidal crystallites was monitored during the quasi-equilibrium colloidal crystal melting. The melting and freezing boundaries of the coexistence region were determined via a blue shift of Bragg's peak and the disappearance of peak area. We confirm this method using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) particles at different charge densities and temperatures far below the lower critical solution temperature. At low pH, the particles behave as thermosensitive hard spheres.     

Janus discs

We describe the synthesis and the solution properties of sheet- and disclike Janus particles, containing an inner crosslinked polybutadiene (PB) layer and two different outer sides of polystyrene (PS) and poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA). The structures formed upon adsorption of the flat Janus particles onto solid substrates as well as in THF solution are investigated. The Janus discs are obtained in a template-assisted synthetic pathway followed by sonication. Selectively crosslinking the lamellar PB domains in a well-ordered lamellar microphase-separated bulk morphology of PS-block-PB-block-PtBMA (SBT) block terpolymers leads to the conservation of the compartmentalization of the two outer blocks. Sonication of the crosslinked block terpolymer templates renders soluble sheet- and disclike Janus particles, the size of which can be tuned from the micrometer range down to the nanometer scale. Small-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy are used to characterize the template-assisted synthetic process and the solution properties. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy in THF and TEM of particles, embedded into a photo-crosslinkable silicon oil, indicate a supramolecular aggregation behavior of the Janus discs in concentrated solutions. Pendant drop tensiometry demonstrates that Janus sheets and discs can be used to stabilize liquid-liquid interfaces, rendering these materials interesting for future applications.     

Janus复合材料

Janus复合材料基本特征在于其微尺度空间具有明确分区的化学和功能。关键问题在于发展新方法,精确控制形貌、微结构、和表面化学和功能严格分区。本文主要总结了本课题组的有关点滴成果,指出了存在的重要问题及发展方向,展望了近期有望突破领域。     

Vapor-liquid coexistence in fluids of charged hard dumbbells

Vapor-liquid coexistence in fluids of charged hard dumbbells, each made up of two oppositely charged hard spheres with diameters sigma and separation d, has been studied using grand-canonical Monte Carlo simulations. In the limit d/sigma-->0, and with the temperature scaled accordingly, the system corresponds to dipolar hard spheres. For separations in the range 0.30 yield estimates of the apparent critical parameters for dipolar hard spheres.     

Template-directed supramolecular self-assembly of coordination dumbbells at surfaces

Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals, at single-molecular resolution, how external parameters--substrate morphology and guest addition--re-direct the assembly of dumbbell-shaped coordination supramolecules towards different surface-confined supramolecular organizations.     

Self-assembly of molecular dumbbells into organized bundles with tunable size

Dumbbell-shaped molecules consisting of three biphenyls connected through vinyl linkages as a conjugated rod segment and aliphatic polyether dendritic wedges with different cross-sections (i.e., dibranch (1), tetrabranch (2) and hexabranch (3)) were synthesized and characterized. The molecular dumbbells self-assemble into discrete bundles that organize into three-dimensional superlattices. Molecule 1, based on a dibranched dendritic wedge, organizes into primitive monoclinic-crystalline and body-centered, tetragonal liquid crystalline structures, while molecules 2 and 3, based on tetra- and hexabranched dendritic wedges, respectively, form only body-centered, tetragonal liquid crystalline structures. X-ray diffraction experiments and density measurements showed that the rod-bundle cross-sectional area decreases with increasing cross-section of the dendritic wedges. The influences of supramolecular structure on the bulk-state optical properties were investigated by measuring the UV/Vis absorption and steady state fluorescence spectroscopies. As the cross-section of the dendritic wedge of the molecule increases, the absorption and emission maxima shift to higher energy. This can be attributed to a quantum size effect of the three-dimensionally confined nanostructure.     

新型阴离子型温敏水凝胶

新型阴离子型温敏水凝胶王昌华,曹维孝（北京大学化学与分子工程学院,北京,１００８７１）关键词温敏水凝胶,溶胀比,Ｎ－异丙基丙烯酰胺１９８４年Ｔａｎａｋａ等人［１］发现Ｎ－异丙基丙烯酰胺（ＮＩＰＡ）与Ｎ,Ｎ－亚甲基双丙烯酰胺（ＭＢＡ）的微交联共聚体,在...     

Polymeric Janus Particles

Since de Gennes’ Nobel lecture in 1991, in which he coined the term “Janus grains”, research into asymmetric particles has boomed. Macroscopic, microscopic and nanoscopic particles have been prepared in which certain parts of their surface differ in chemical composition, polarity, color, or any other property. Spherical, cylindrical, disc‐like, snowman‐, hamburger‐, and raspberry‐like structures have been synthesized from organic or inorganic materials or even as hybrids of both. Synthetic strategies towards such particles vary greatly from simple polymer mixtures to the bulk self‐assembly of sophisticated terpolymers to immobilization methods of symmetric particles. Polymeric Janus particles are particularly promising, as they can often be prepared cheaply and sometimes even on larger scales.     

Janus Composite Nanotubes

We propose a facile method to achieve paramagnetic Janus nanotubes with two compositions compartmentalized onto the interior and exterior surfaces, respectively. A sulfonated polydivinylbenzene (PDVB) nanotube is prepared by simple sulfonation of the exterior surface of a PDVB nanotube. Silica@FeOOH dual layers are sequentially grown onto the sulfonated PDVB nanotube surface. The composite nanotubes become paramagnetic after calcination and can be broken into shorter pieces under vigorous ultrasonication. After selective modification of the interior and exterior surfaces of the paramagnetic nanotubes, the nanotube shell becomes Janus in wettability. Desired hydrophobic species can be selectively captured inside the cavity. The paramagnetic Janus composite nanotubes can align into parallel chains under a magnetic field, which is self‐disassembled upon removal of the magnetic field.     

Bisfunctionalized Janus molecules

[reaction: see text] Bisfunctionalized dendritic multiester molecules were synthesized by combined protection-deprotection and divergent-convergent-divergent sequences in high yields leading to dendritic molecules that combine two functionally different surfaces, polar aliphatic arborol and nonpolar gallate ether moieties, resulting in a two-faced Janus molecule.     

Time-dependent elongational viscosity of a solution of elastic dumbbells

The elongational viscosity of dilute polymer solutions must always be measured under nonsteady-state conditions. To predict the time dependence of this viscosity for a polymer solution in which a constant stretching rate is maintained, a simple model is considered in which the polymer molecules are represented by elastic dumbbells. The non-Hookean elastic force in the dumbbell is determined by the conformational entropy of the chain. Use is made of Peterlin's approximation which replaces the elastic force by a function of the root-mean-square end-to-end distance. Application to the transient state is straightforward; it can be extended to include the effect of “internal” chain viscosity by means of approximations that are similar to Peterlin's.     

N-异丙基甲基丙烯酰胺共聚热缩温敏水凝胶

从甲基丙烯腈与异丙醇反应制备了N-异丙基甲基丙烯酰胺(NIPM),研究了其以N,N′-亚甲基双丙烯酰胺(MBA)为交联剂在不同溶剂体系的聚合及所形成的水凝胶的性质。表明NIPM-MBA凝胶具有热缩温敏性。在NIPM-MBA体系引入丙烯酸钠、甲基丙烯酸钠等负离子单体时,凝胶的溶胀比明显增加,MBA所占比例较少的体系,具有热缩、热胀双重性。