Publication
Title
Nanocluster superstructures assembled via surface ligand switching at high temperature
Author
Abstract
Superstructures with nanoscale building blocks, when coupled with precise control of the constituent units, open opportunities in rationally designing and manufacturing desired functional materials. Yet, synthetic strategies for the large-scale production of superstructures are scarce. We report a scalable and generalized approach to synthesizing superstructures assembled from atomically precise Ce24O28(OH)8 and other rare-earth metal-oxide nanoclusters alongside a detailed description of the self-assembly mechanism. Combining operando small-angle X-ray scattering, ex situ molecular and structural characterizations, and molecular dynamics simulations indicates that a high-temperature ligand-switching mechanism, from oleate to benzoate, governs the formation of the nanocluster assembly. The chemical tuning of surface ligands controls superstructure disassembly and reassembly, and furthermore, enables the synthesis of multicomponent superstructures. This synthetic approach, and the accurate mechanistic understanding, are promising for the preparation of superstructures for use in electronics, plasmonics, magnetics and catalysis. Synthesizing superstructures with precisely controlled nanoscale building blocks is challenging. Here the assembly of superstructures is reported from atomically precise Ce24O28(OH)8 and other rare-earth metal-oxide nanoclusters and their multicomponent combinations. A high-temperature ligand-switching mechanism controls the self-assembly.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Nature synthesis
Publication
2023
DOI
10.1038/S44160-023-00304-8
Volume/pages
2 :9 (2023) , p. 828-837
ISI
001124824000001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Boosting Cation Exchange in Self-Assembled Supraparticles through Advanced Electron Tomography Techniques (SuprAtom).
3D Structure of nanomaterials under realistic conditions (REALNANO).
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 09.01.2024
Last edited 19.01.2024
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