title: Exploiting Metallophilicity for the Assembly of Inorganic Nanocrystals and Conjugated Organic Molecules.
abstract: The accurate engineering of interfaces between inorganic nanocrystals and semiconducting organic molecules is currently viewed as key for further developments in critical fields such as photovoltaics and photocatalysis. In this work, a new and unconventional source of interface interaction based on metal-metal bonds is presented. With this aim, an Au(I) organometallic gelator was exploited for the formation of hydrogel-like nanocomposites containing inorganic nanoparticles and conjugated organic molecules. Noteworthy, the establishment of metallophilic interactions at the interface between the two moieties greatly enhances interparticle coupling in the composites. Thus, we believe that this new hybrid system might represent a promising alternative in several fields, such as in the fabrication of improved light-harvesting devices.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.|Institut de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (IN2UB), Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mariona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dalmases
authors.affiliation: Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aguiló
authors.affiliation: Institut de Tècniques Energètiques i Centre de Recerca en NanoEnginyeria, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Diagonal, 647, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Llorca
authors.affiliation: Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. laura.rodriguez@qi.ub.es.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. albert.figuerola@qi.ub.es.|Institut de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (IN2UB), Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1-11, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. albert.figuerola@qi.ub.es.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1703-1025
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Figuerola
keywords: conjugation; gold; hydrogels; metallophilicity; nanoparticles