Mesocrystals are a class of solids formed by the regular arrangement of nanocrystals, which are tiny nanoparticles that have unique properties due to their small size. In mesocrystals, these take on a highly organized, superordinate form in a densely packed grid. A German-Swiss research team led by Professor Helmut Cölfen, a chemist from Konstanz, has now succeeded in synthesizing particularly complex mesocrystals with largely unknown chemical and physical properties and in shedding light on their structure.
What is so special about the new material? Two different nanocrystals – platinum and magnetite cubes - are the basic building blocks of the novel solids that self-assemble into a three-dimensional superstructure. Until now, mesocrystals from two different basic building blocks, called binary mesocrystals, could only be produced as two-dimensional structures.
The synthetic pathway and structural characterization of the 3D binary mesocrystals of platinum and magnetite nanocrystals have just been described in the journal Angewandte Chemie. The results of the study are the first step towards a potential "building set system" that might make it possible in the future to combine the properties of different nanocrystals in a targeted manner and transfer them to the more manageable micro world – resulting in a multitude of possible advantages and applications.
To learn more about the mesocrystals' potential to combine the best of two worlds – the nano and the micro world – and how the researchers managed the first-ever synthesis of three-dimensional binary mesocrystals, read the more detailed article in our online magazine campus.kn: https://www.campus.uni-konstanz.de/en/science/binary-mesocrystals-from-the-nano-building-kit
Key facts:
- Original study: C. Jenewein, J. Avaro, C. Appel, M. Liebi, H. Cölfen (2021) "3D Binary Mesocrystals from Anisotropic Nanoparticles", Angewandte Chemie, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202112461
- Team led by Konstanz researcher succeeds in the first-ever synthesis of three-dimensional mesocrystals from two different building blocks: nanocrystals of platinum and magnetite
- Mesocrystals have the potential to transfer the unique properties of nanocrystals to significantly larger solids
- The study is a first step towards the targeted combination of different nanocrystals and their properties into superordinate structures with novel functions
- Funding sources: German Research Foundation (DFG) in the context of the Collaborative Research Centre “Anisotropic Particles as Building Blocks: Tailoring Shape, Interactions and Structures” (SFB 1214), the European Commission in the context of Horizon 2020, the Chalmers initiative for advancement of neutron and X-ray techniques, the Chalmers Gender Initiative for Excellence (Genie) and Projekt DEAL
Note to editors:
You can download a photo here:
https://cms.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/Digital_Magazin/1.%20Wissenschaft/2021/Bin%C3%A4re_Mesokristalle/Gesamtbild.jpg
Caption: Synthesis and structural characterization of three-dimensional, binary mesocrystals of platinum and magnetite blocks
Credits: Christian Jenewein
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