Spontaneous organization of inorganic nanoparticles into nanovesicles triggered by UV light.
A novel versatile light-triggered strategy is developed to organize inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) into nanovesicles with single or multiple layers in mixed solvents. This strategy constitutes a new assembly mechanism based on the photo-oxidation of thiol ligands. Compared with currently-used individual semiconductor NPs, the prepared CdSe QD vesicles exhibit an improved catalytic activity and unprecedented catalytic stability towards solar-driven hydrogen production. This light-triggered approach to functional nanoarchitectures would lead to new opportunities in various applications.
Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10049, P. R. China.
Tong
T
Bian
Lu
L
Shang
Huijun
H
Yu
Maria Teresa
MT
Perez
Li-Zhu
LZ
Wu
Chen-Ho
CH
Tung
Zhihong
Z
Nie
Zhiyong
Z
Tang
Tierui
T
Zhang
UV light; inorganic nanoparticles; nanovesicles; photocatalytic water splitting; self-assembly