Issue 5, 2021

Two helices from one chiral centre – self organization of disc shaped chiral nanoparticles

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been prepared and surface-functionalized with a mixture of 1-hexanethiol co-ligands and chiral discogen ligands separated from a disulfide function via a flexible spacer. Polarized optical microscopy together with differential scanning calorimetry showed that the organic corona of the nanocomposite forms a stable chiral discotic nematic Image ID:d0sc05100d-t1.gif phase with a wide thermal range. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction showed that gold NPs form a superlattice with p2 plane symmetry. Analysis indicated that the organic corona takes up the shape of a flexible macrodisk. Synchrotron radiation-based circular dichroism signals of thin films are significantly enhanced on the isotropic-LC transition, in line with the formation of a chiral nematic phase of the organic corona. At lower temperatures the appearance of CD signals at longer wavelengths is associated with the chiral organisation of the NPs and is indicative of the formation of a second helical structure. The decreased volume required and the chiral environment of the disc ligands drives the nanoparticles into columns that arrange helically, parallel to the shortest axis of the two dimensional lattice.

Graphical abstract: Two helices from one chiral centre – self organization of disc shaped chiral nanoparticles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
15 Sept. 2020
Accepted
30 Nov. 2020
First published
08 Dec. 2020
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 1778-1782

Two helices from one chiral centre – self organization of disc shaped chiral nanoparticles

H. Yu, W. Qu, F. Liu and G. H. Mehl, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 1778 DOI: 10.1039/D0SC05100D

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