title: Orientationally ordered colloidal co-dispersions of gold nanorods and cellulose nanocrystals.
abstract: Nematic-like and helicoidally orientational self-assemblies of gold nanorods co-dispersed with cellulose nanocrystals to form liquid crystalline phases are developed. Polarization-sensitive extinction spectra and two-photon luminescence imaging are used to characterize orientations and spatial distributions of gold nanorods. Cholesteric-isotropic phase coexistence and continuous domains of single-phase regions are observed and qualitatively discussed on the basis of entropic and electrostatic interactions in co-dispersions of rigid rods of different aspect ratios. Potential applications include biologically compatible plasmonic composite nanomaterials for solar biofuel production and polarization-sensitive plasmonic papers and fabrics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Qingkun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Julian S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Ivan I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Smalyukh
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D019277:Entropy; D017612:Gold Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D017612:Gold Compounds; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: cellulose nanocrystal; gold nanorods; liquid crystal; self-assembly