title: Tailoring Anisotropic Interactions between Soft Nanospheres Using Dense Arrays of Smectic Liquid Crystal Edge Dislocations.
abstract: We investigated composite films of gold nanoparticles (NPs)/liquid crystal (LC) defects as a model system to understand the key parameters, which allow for an accurate control of NP anisotropic self-assemblies using soft templates. We combined spectrophotometry, Raman spectroscopy, and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering with calculations of dipole coupling models and soft sphere interactions. We demonstrate that dense arrays of elementary edge dislocations can strongly localize small NPs along the defect cores, resulting in formation of parallel chains of NPs. Furthermore, we show that within the dislocation cores the inter-NP distances can be tuned. This phenomenon appears to be driven by the competition between "soft (nano)sphere" attraction and LC-induced repulsion. We evidence two extreme regimes controlled by the solvent evaporation: (i) when the solvent evaporates abruptly, the spacing between neighboring NPs in the chains is dominated by van der Waals interactions between interdigitated capping ligands, leading to chains of close-packed NPs; (ii) when the solvent evaporates slowly, strong interdigitation between the is avoided, leading to a dominating LC-induced repulsion between NPs associated with the replacement of disordered cores by NPs. The templating of NPs by topological defects, beyond the technological inquiries, may enable creation, investigation, and manipulation of unique collective features for a wide range of nanomaterials.
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 7588, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris (INSP) , 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.|The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago , 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Coursault
authors.affiliation: UMR 8181, Unité de Catalyse et de Chimie du Solide - UCCS, Université Artois , Faculté des Sciences Jean Perrin, SP18, F-62300 Lens, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Francois
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Blach
authors.affiliation: Interfaces, Traitements, Organisation et Dynamique des Systèmes (ITODYS), CNRS: UMR7086 Université Paris VII - Paris Diderot, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grand
authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL - SixS Beamline L'Orme des Merisiers Saint Aubin, BP 48 91192 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coati
authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL - SixS Beamline L'Orme des Merisiers Saint Aubin, BP 48 91192 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vlad
authors.affiliation: CNR-Nanotec, UOS LICRYL-Cosenza c/o Università della Calabria , Cubo 33/B, Rende, 87036, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zappone
authors.affiliation: Institut Pprime, Département Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux, UPR 3346 CNRS, Université de Poitiers , SP2MI, 11 Boulevard Marie et Pierre Curie, BP 30179, 86962 Futuroscope Chasseneuil Cedex, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Babonneau
authors.affiliation: Interfaces, Traitements, Organisation et Dynamique des Systèmes (ITODYS), CNRS: UMR7086 Université Paris VII - Paris Diderot, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lévi
authors.affiliation: Interfaces, Traitements, Organisation et Dynamique des Systèmes (ITODYS), CNRS: UMR7086 Université Paris VII - Paris Diderot, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Nordin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Félidj
authors.affiliation: Institut de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg (IPCMS), UMR 7504, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg , BP 43, 23 Rue du Loess, F-67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France.|Complex Assemblies of Soft Matter Laboratory (COMPASS) , UMI 3254 (CNRS-RHODIA/SOLVAY-University of Pennsylvania), CRTB, 350 George Patterson Boulevard, Bristol, Pennsylvania 19007, United States.
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Donnio
authors.affiliation: Institut de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg (IPCMS), UMR 7504, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg , BP 43, 23 Rue du Loess, F-67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gallani
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Léon Brillouin UMR12 CNRS-CEA , CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alba
authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL - SixS Beamline L'Orme des Merisiers Saint Aubin, BP 48 91192 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France.|Matériaux et phénomènes quantiques (MPQ), Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 , Sorbonne-Paris-Cité, CNRS, UMR 7162, 10, rue A. Domon et L. Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Garreau
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 7588, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris (INSP) , 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Borensztein
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 7588, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris (INSP) , 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldmann
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 7588, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris (INSP) , 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lacaze
keywords: GISAXS; SERS; directed assembly; gold nanoparticle; liquid crystal; plasmon; topological defect