Vastly increased mesophase range due to superstructure formation from in situ prepared gold nanoparticles with liquid crystalline ligands: toward enhanced optoelectronic applications

TitleVastly increased mesophase range due to superstructure formation from in situ prepared gold nanoparticles with liquid crystalline ligands: toward enhanced optoelectronic applications
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2025
AuthorsDuggal, M, Khatavi, S, Yelamaggad, CV, Rao, DSreenivasa, Prasad, SKrishna, Prasad, BLV
JournalACS Applied Nano Materials
Volume8
Issue20
Pagination10340-10350
Date PublishedMAY
Type of ArticleArticle
KeywordsFano-resonance, gold nanoparticles, liquid crystals, nanosoftcomposites, superstructure
Abstract

Gold nanoparticle (Au NP)-liquid crystal (LC) composites have gained considerable interest in developing cutting-edge electro-optical materials. This study introduces an innovative synthetic approach that significantly augments the capabilities of Au NP-LC composites by utilizing an amine-functionalized LC as both a reducing and capping agent in the refined Brust-Schiffrin method. In its standard form, this method yields Au NP-LC composites with appealing features like improved clearing temperature. However, the optical characteristics do not display any additional features and resemble simple LC-ligand functionalized Au NP, attributed here to the surplus LC employed to obtain the dual capabilities of reduction and capping. Thus, it was gratifying to observe a dramatic enhancement in mesophase stability with the removal of just a few percentages of excess LC, which is attributed to a remarkable and unprecedented one-dimensional superstructure formation. Furthermore, the removal of surplus LC caused the composite to exhibit Fano-like resonance in the UV-vis spectrum, a noteworthy optical feature likely resulting from dynamic plasmonic interactions, including plasmon-polariton interactions and lattice plasmon modes. Thus, the simple yet robust protocol employed yields Au NP-LC composites with an ultrawide thermal range of the mesophase that paves the way for realizing next-generation electro-optic materials featuring enhanced performance and response.

DOI10.1021/acsanm.5c00923
Type of Journal (Indian or Foreign)

Foreign

Impact Factor (IF)

5.6

Divison category: 
Physical and Materials Chemistry
Database: 
Web of Science (WoS)

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