Forming Supramolecular Networks from Nanoscale Rods in Binary, Phase-Separating Mixtures
Gongwen Peng,
1
Feng Qiu,
1
Valeriy
V. Ginzburg,
1
David Jasnow,
2
Anna C. Balazs
1*
Simulations show that when low-volume fractions of
nanoscale rods are immersed in a binary, phase-separating blend, the
rods self-assemble into needle-like, percolating networks. The
interconnected network arises through the dynamic interplay of
phase-separation between the fluids, through preferential adsorption of
the minority component onto the mobile rods, and through rod-rod
repulsion. Such cooperative effects provide a means of manipulating the
motion of nanoscopic objects and directing their association into
supramolecular structures. Increasing the rod concentration beyond the
effective percolation threshold drives the system to self-assemble into a lamellar morphology, with layers of wetted rods alternating with
layers of the majority-component fluid. This approach can potentially
yield organic/inorganic composites that are ordered on nanometer scales
and exhibit electrical or structural integrity.
1 Chemical Engineering Department and
2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
balazs{at}vms.cis.pitt.edu
