NPS without crosslinking under compression (top picture), NPS with crosslinking under compression (bottom picture). Reprinted with permission from ACS Nano, 2017, 11, pp 1292-1300. Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society.
We report the results of cross-linking of two-dimensional gold nanoparticle (Au-NP) assemblies at the air−water interface in situ. We introduce an aqueous soluble ruthenium benzylidene catalyst into the water subphase to generate a robust, elastic two-dimensional network of nanoparticles containing cyclic olefins in their ligand framework. The most striking feature of the cross-linked Au-NP assemblies is that the extended connectivity of the nanoparticles enables the film to preserve much of its integrity under compression and expansion, features that are absent in its non-cross-linked counterparts. The cross-linking process appears to “stitch” the nanoparticle crystalline domains together, allowing the cross-linked monolayers to behave like a piece of fabric under lateral compression.
Irem Kosif1, Katrina Kratz1, Siheng Sean You2, Mrinal K. Bera3, Kyungil Kim3, Brian Leahy3, Todd Emrick1, Ka Yee C. Lee2,4, and Binhua Lin2,3
1Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
2James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
3Center for Advanced Radiation Sources, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
4Department of Chemistry and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
ACS Nano, 2017, 11, pp 1292-1300
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b05563