Accommodating curvature in a highly ordered functionalized metal oxide nanofiber: Synthesis, characterization, and multiscale modeling of layered nanosheets

C. O'Dwyer, G. Gannon, D. McNulty, D. N. Buckley, D. Thompson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A key element in the rational design of hybrid organic-inorganic nanostructures is control of surfactant packing and adsorption onto the inorganic phase in crystal growth and assembly. In layered single crystal nanofibers and bilayered two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets of vanadium oxide, we show how the chemisorption of preferred densities of surfactant molecules can direct the formation of ordered, curved layers. The atom-scale features of the structures are described using molecular dynamics simulations that quantify surfactant packing effects and confirm the preference for a density of 5 dodecanethiol molecules per 8 vanadium attachment sites in the synthesized structures. This assembly maintains a remarkably well ordered interlayer spacing, even when curved. The assemblies of interdigitated organic bilayers on V 2O 5 are shown to be sufficiently flexible to tolerate curvature while maintaining a constant interlayer distance without rupture, delamination, or cleavage. The accommodation of curvature and invariant structural integrity points to a beneficial role for oxide-directed organic film packing effects in layered architectures such as stacked nanofibers and hybrid 2D nanosheet systems.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3981-3992
Number of pages12
JournalChemistry of Materials
Volume24
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Oct 2012

Keywords

  • alkanethiols
  • curved nanostructures
  • hybrid materials
  • molecular dynamics
  • nanosheets
  • self-assembly
  • synthesis
  • transmission electron microscopy
  • vanadium oxide

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