Calixarene-encapsulated nanoparticles: self-assembly into functional nanomaterials

Abstract

Calixarenes are excellent surfactants for enhancing the dispersion and self-assembly of metal nanoparticles into well-defined structures, particularly those with unit length scales in the 10–100 nm size range. Particles within these ensembles are strongly coupled, giving rise to unique collective optical or magnetic properties. The self-assembled nanostructures described in this feature article include 2D arrays of colloidal Au nanoparticles with size-dependent plasmonic responses, and sub-100 nm Co nanoparticle rings with chiral magnetic states. These nanoparticle assemblies may be further developed for applications in chemical sensing based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and as binary elements for nonvolatile memory, respectively.