Control of nanomaterial self-assembly in ultrasonically levitated droplets

Seddon, A. M., Richardson, S. J., Rastogi, K., Plivelic, T. S., Squires, A. M. and Pfrang, C. (2016) Control of nanomaterial self-assembly in ultrasonically levitated droplets. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 7 (7). pp. 1341-1345. ISSN 1948-7185 doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00449

Abstract/Summary

We demonstrate that acoustic trapping can be used to levitate and manipulate droplets of soft matter, in particular, lyotropic mesophases formed from selfassembly of different surfactants and lipids, which can be analyzed in a contact-less manner by X-ray scattering in a controlled gas-phase environment. On the macroscopic length scale, the dimensions and the orientation of the particle are shaped by the ultrasonic field, while on the microscopic length scale the nanostructure can be controlled by varying the humidity of the atmosphere around the droplet. We demonstrate levitation and in situ phase transitions of micellar, hexagonal, bicontinuous cubic, and lamellar phases. The technique opens up a wide range of new experimental approaches of fundamental importance for environmental, biological, and chemical research.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/62115
Identification Number/DOI	10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00449
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Chemical Analysis Facility (CAF) Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Chemistry
Publisher	American Chemical Society
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item