Calixarene-encapsulated nanoparticles: self-assembly into functional nanomaterials.
Calixarenes are excellent surfactants for enhancing the dispersion and self-assembly of metal nanoparticles into well-defined structures, particularly those with unit length scales in the 10-100 nm size range. Particles within these ensembles are strongly coupled, giving rise to unique collective optical or magnetic properties. The self-assembled nanostructures described in this feature article include 2D arrays of colloidal Au nanoparticles with size-dependent plasmonic responses, and sub-100 nm Co nanoparticle rings with chiral magnetic states. These nanoparticle assemblies may be further developed for applications in chemical sensing based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and as binary elements for nonvolatile memory, respectively.
Wei
Alexander
A
Department of Chemistry and the Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN, USA. alexwei@purdue.edu
D047250:Calixarenes; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents
D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D047250:Calixarenes