A general method is developed for removal of native nonpolar oleate ligands from colloidal metal oxide nanocrystals of varying morphologies and compositions. Ligand stripping occurs by phase transfer into potassium hydroxide solution, yielding stable aqueous dispersions with little nanocrystal aggregation and without significant changes to the nanomaterials’ physical or chemical properties. This method enables facile fabrication of conductive films of ligand-free nanocrystals.
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3D Nanofabrication via Chemo‐Mechanical Transformation of Nanocrystal/Bulk Heterostructures
Planar nanocrystal/bulk heterostructures are transformed into 3D architectures by taking advantage of the different chemical and mechanical properties of nanocrystal and bulk thin films. Nanocrystal/bulk heterostructures are fabricated via bottom‐up assembly and top‐down fabrication. The nanocrystals are capped by long ligands introduced in their synthesis, and therefore their surfaces are chemically addressable, and their assemblies are mechanically “soft,” in contrast to the bulk films. Chemical modification of the nanocrystal surface, exchanging the long ligands for more compact chemistries, triggers large volume shrinkage of the nanocrystal layer and drives bending of the nanocrystal/bulk heterostructures. Exploiting the differential chemo‐mechanical properties of nanocrystal and bulk materials, the scalable fabrication of designed 3D, cell‐sized nanocrystal/bulk superstructures is demonstrated, which possess unique functions derived from nanocrystal building blocks.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10056570
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials
- Volume:
- 30
- Issue:
- 22
- ISSN:
- 0935-9648
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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