Orientationally ordered colloidal co-dispersions of gold nanorods and cellulose nanocrystals.

Liu, Qingkun; Campbell, Michael G; Evans, Julian S; Smalyukh, Ivan I · Adv Mater · 2014

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Nematic-like and helicoidally orientational self-assemblies of gold nanorods co-dispersed with cellulose nanocrystals to form liquid crystalline phases are developed. Polarization-sensitive extinction spectra and two-photon luminescence imaging are used to characterize orientations and spatial distributions of gold nanorods. Cholesteric-isotropic phase coexistence and continuous domains of single-phase regions are observed and qualitatively discussed on the basis of entropic and electrostatic interactions in co-dispersions of rigid rods of different aspect ratios. Potential applications include biologically compatible plasmonic composite nanomaterials for solar biofuel production and polarization-sensitive plasmonic papers and fabrics.

Medical subject headings