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Macroscopic materials assembled from nanoparticle superlattices

Author

Listed:
  • Peter J. Santos

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Paul A. Gabrys

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Leonardo Z. Zornberg

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Margaret S. Lee

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Robert J. Macfarlane

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Nanoparticle assembly has been proposed as an ideal means to program the hierarchical organization of a material by using a selection of nanoscale components to build the entire material from the bottom up. Multiscale structural control is highly desirable because chemical composition, nanoscale ordering, microstructure and macroscopic form all affect physical properties1,2. However, the chemical interactions that typically dictate nanoparticle ordering3–5 do not inherently provide any means to manipulate structure at larger length scales6–9. Nanoparticle-based materials development therefore requires processing strategies to tailor micro- and macrostructure without sacrificing their self-assembled nanoscale arrangements. Here we demonstrate methods to rapidly assemble gram-scale quantities of faceted nanoparticle superlattice crystallites that can be further shaped into macroscopic objects in a manner analogous to the sintering of bulk solids. The key advance of this method is that the chemical interactions that govern nanoparticle assembly remain active during the subsequent processing steps, which enables the local nanoscale ordering of the particles to be preserved as the macroscopic materials are formed. The nano- and microstructure of the bulk solids can be tuned as a function of the size, chemical makeup and crystallographic symmetry of the superlattice crystallites, and the micro- and macrostructures can be controlled via subsequent processing steps. This work therefore provides a versatile method to simultaneously control structural organization across the molecular to macroscopic length scales.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter J. Santos & Paul A. Gabrys & Leonardo Z. Zornberg & Margaret S. Lee & Robert J. Macfarlane, 2021. "Macroscopic materials assembled from nanoparticle superlattices," Nature, Nature, vol. 591(7851), pages 586-591, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:591:y:2021:i:7851:d:10.1038_s41586-021-03355-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03355-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Minju Song & Yoonkyum Kim & Du San Baek & Ho Young Kim & Da Hwi Gu & Haiyang Li & Benjamin V. Cunning & Seong Eun Yang & Seung Hwae Heo & Seunghyun Lee & Minhyuk Kim & June Sung Lim & Hu Young Jeong &, 2023. "3D microprinting of inorganic porous materials by chemical linking-induced solidification of nanocrystals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Bowen Sui & Youliang Zhu & Xuemei Jiang & Yifan Wang & Niboqia Zhang & Zhongyuan Lu & Bai Yang & Yunfeng Li, 2023. "Recastable assemblies of carbon dots into mechanically robust macroscopic materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Alexander Hensley & Thomas E. Videbæk & Hunter Seyforth & William M. Jacobs & W. Benjamin Rogers, 2023. "Macroscopic photonic single crystals via seeded growth of DNA-coated colloids," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Minghui Tan & Pan Tian & Qian Zhang & Guiqiang Zhu & Yuchen Liu & Mengjiao Cheng & Feng Shi, 2022. "Self-sorting in macroscopic supramolecular self-assembly via additive effects of capillary and magnetic forces," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Zhiwei Yang & Yanze Wei & Jingjing Wei & Zhijie Yang, 2022. "Chiral superstructures of inorganic nanorods by macroscopic mechanical grinding," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.

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