Colloidal building blocks for bottom-up engineering of complex structure
Type
Vortrag
Topic
Advanced Materials Science (Field of Expertise)
The realization of next-generation materials with highly sophisticated (chiral) nanostructures demands new engineering processes based on self-assembly concepts, given the high costs associated with state-of-the-art lithography and physical vapor deposition Anisotropic colloidal amphiphiles, analogous to block copolymers, are among the most promising building blocks to access such complex structural hierarchies via self-assembly. Polysaccharide nanocrystals, such as those produced from chitin, starch and cellulose, provide an interesting platform for bottom-up engineering of solid-state materials with long-range chiral order. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), in particular, have exceptional optical and thermomechanical properties as a result of their unique morphology and surface chemistry, which drive the formation of cholesteric liquid crystal phases. In order to further manipulate their interfacial properties, we investigate surface modification through surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization (SI-CRP). In addition to uniform surface functionalization, CNCs have reactive end groups that can be selectively modified to generate “patchy” anisotropic colloids.
Transition metal-mediated SI-CRP
Invited to the bi-weekly IPZ research seminars, Justin O. Zoppe from the Adolph Merkle Institute at the University of Fribourg gives an overview of the work in transition metal-mediated SI-CRP from CNCs toward a variety of applications will be presented. The liquid crystal properties of the functionalized CNCs are expected to be more robust and easily controlled in various solvents and in the solid state.
Host
TU Graz, Institut für Papier-, Zellstoff- und Fasertechnik (IPZ)
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