Controlling the Morphology in Electrostatic Self-Assembly via Light

Agarwal M, Zika A, Schweins R, Gröhn F (2024)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Polymers MDPI

Book Volume: 16

Article Number: 50

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.3390/polym16010050

Abstract

Electrostatic self-assembly of macroions is an emerging area with great potential in the development of nanoscale functional objects, where photo-irradiation responsiveness can either elevate or suppress the self-assembly. The ability to control the size and shape of macroion assemblies would greatly facilitate the fabrication of desired nano-objects that can be harnessed in various applications such as catalysis, drug delivery, bio-sensors, and actuators. Here, we demonstrate that a polyelectrolyte with a size of 5 nm and multivalent counterions with a size of 1 nm can produce well-defined nanostructures ranging in size from 10–1000 nm in an aqueous environment by utilizing the concept of electrostatic self-assembly and other intermolecular non-covalent interactions including dipole–dipole interactions. The pH- and photoresponsiveness of polyelectrolytes and azo dyes provide diverse parameters to tune the nanostructures. Our findings demonstrate a facile approach to fabricating and manipulating self-assembled nanoparticles using light and neutron scattering techniques.

Authors with CRIS profile

Mohit Agarwal Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Molekulare Materialien Alexander Zika Professur für Molekulare Nanostrukturen Franziska Gröhn Professur für Molekulare Nanostrukturen

Involved external institutions

Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL)

France (FR)

How to cite

APA:

Agarwal, M., Zika, A., Schweins, R., & Gröhn, F. (2024). Controlling the Morphology in Electrostatic Self-Assembly via Light. Polymers, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16010050

MLA:

Agarwal, Mohit, et al. "Controlling the Morphology in Electrostatic Self-Assembly via Light." Polymers 16.1 (2024).

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