title: Reversible and Precise Self-Assembly of Janus Metal-Organosilica Nanoparticles through a Linker-Free Approach.
abstract: Reversible self-assembly of nanoparticles into ordered structures is essential for both fundamental study and practical applications. Although extensive work has been conducted, the demand for simple, cheap, reversible, and versatile ordering methods is still a central issue in current nanoscience and nanotechnology. Here we report a reversible and precise self-assembly of nanoparticles through a linker-free and fast approach by manipulating the interparticle forces, e.g., van der Waals (VDW) force and electrostatic force. Because VDW force is nondirectional, an oriented interaction is achieved to induce the directional binding of nanoparticles utilizing the Janus nanostructure. An effective sol-gel approach has been developed to synthesize metal-organosilica Janus nanoparticles. Dimers and trimers can be obtained by tuning the steric hindrance. After assembly, "hot-spots" can be generated between adjacent nanoparticles, and dramatic enhancement has been observed in surface-enhanced Raman scattering. The present strategy overcomes several limitations of existing approaches and allows the controlled assembly of small particles into various structures.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Huicheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jiaqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qipeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 104 South Goodwin Ave, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology , Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: Yeshayahu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lifshitz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , No. 12 South Street of Zhongguancun Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (NANO-CIC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University , Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shuit-Tong
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Janus nanoparticle; reversible self-assembly; surface plasmon resonance; surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy; van der Waals force