Dendrimer-Nanocrystal Building Blocks

Optimum function of plasmonic nanocrystal in assembly requires precision control of separation.

Often, larger separations are desired while still maintaining order.

With our COMPASS collaborators, Hough and Donnio, IRG-4 has developed a new class of building blocks that incorporate dendrimer ligands.

Dendrimer-nanocrystal building blocks have diameters controlled by dendrimer “generation.”

Unprecedented arrangements are possible by incorporating nanocrystals in building blocks that include different length dendrimers.  Here, building blocks with first (G1) and fourth (G4) generation dendrimer ligands (center) are combined and form complex unit cells (right). Single-component superlattices (left) reveal the effective radius of these new building blocks.
Figure
– Unprecedented arrangements are possible by incorporating nanocrystals in building blocks that include different length dendrimers.  Here, building blocks with first (G1) and fourth (G4) generation dendrimer ligands (center) are combined and form complex unit cells (right). Single-component superlattices (left) reveal the effective radius of these new building blocks.

This work was published in  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137, 10728–10734 (2015).