Vastly increased mesophase range due to superstructure formation from in situ prepared gold nanoparticles with liquid crystalline ligands: toward enhanced optoelectronic applications
Title | Vastly increased mesophase range due to superstructure formation from in situ prepared gold nanoparticles with liquid crystalline ligands: toward enhanced optoelectronic applications |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2025 |
Authors | Duggal, M, Khatavi, S, Yelamaggad, CV, Rao, DSreenivasa, Prasad, SKrishna, Prasad, BLV |
Journal | ACS Applied Nano Materials |
Volume | 8 |
Issue | 20 |
Pagination | 10340-10350 |
Date Published | MAY |
Type of Article | Article |
Keywords | Fano-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. |
DOI | 10.1021/acsanm.5c00923 |
Type of Journal (Indian or Foreign) | Foreign |
Impact Factor (IF) | 5.6 |
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