Close Menu
  • News
  • Medical
  • Technology
  • Nanomaterials
  • Research
  • Blog
    • Nasiol.com
  • Contact
    • Tech7685@gmail.com
What's Hot

A new molecular model of bilayer graphene with higher semiconducting properties

May 31, 2025

5 Nanomaterial Innovations That Didn’t Deliver (Yet)

May 30, 2025

Scientists identify new 2D copper boride material with unique atomic structure

May 30, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily
  • News
  • Medical
  • Technology
  • Nanomaterials
  • Research
  • Blog
    • Nasiol.com
  • Contact
    • Tech7685@gmail.com
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily Nanotech – Nanomaterials | Medical | Research | News Stories Updated Daily
Home»Nanomaterials»Nanocrystal shape affects molecular binding
Nanomaterials

Nanocrystal shape affects molecular binding

November 1, 2024No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Nanocrystal shape affects molecular binding
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Telegram Email

Molecules known as ligands attach more densely to flatter, platelet-shaped semiconductor nanocrystals than they do to spherical ones – a counterintuitive result that could lead to improvements in LEDs and solar cells as well as applications in biomedicine. While spherical nanoparticles are more curved than platelets, and were therefore expected to have the highest density of ligands on their surfaces, Guohua Jia and colleagues at Australia’s Curtin University say they observed the exact opposite.

“We found that the density of a commonly employed ligand, oleylamine (OLA), on the surface of zinc sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles is highest for nanoplatelets, followed by nanorods and finally nanospheres,” Jia says.

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals show promise for a host of technologies, including field-effect transistors, chemical catalysis and fluorescent biomedical imaging as well as LEDs and photovoltaic cells. Because nanocrystals have a large surface area relative to their volume, their surfaces play an important role in many physical and chemical processes.

Notably, these surfaces can be modified and functionalized with ligands, which are typically smaller molecules such as long-chain amines, thiols, phosphines and phosphonates. The presence of these ligands changes the nanocrystals’ behaviour and properties. For example, they can make the nanocrystals hydrophilic or hydrophobic, and they can change the speed at which charge carriers travel through them. This flexibility allows nanocrystals to be designed and engineered for specific catalytic, optoelectronic or biomedical applications.

Quantifying ligand density

Previous research showed that the size of nanocrystals affects how many surface ligands can attach to them. The curvature of the crystals can also have an effect. The new work adds to this body of research by exploring the role of nanocrystal shape in more detail.

See also  Nanocrystals measure tiny forces on tiny length scales

In their experiments, Jia and colleagues measured the density of OLA ligands on ZnS nanocrystals using three techniques: thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry; 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; and inductively-coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. They combined these measurements with semi-empirical molecular dynamics simulations.

The experiments, which are detailed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, revealed that Zn nanoplatelets with flat basal planes and uniform surfaces allow more ligands to attach tightly to them. This is because the ligands can stack in a parallel fashion on the nanoplatelets, whereas such tight stacking is more difficult on Zn nanodots and nanorods due to staggered atomic arrangements and multistep on their surfaces, Jia tells Physics World. “This results in a lower ligand density than on nanoplatelets,” he says.

The Curtin researchers now plan to study how the differently-shaped nanocrystals – spherical dots, rods and platelets – enter biological cells. This study will be important for improving the efficacy of targeted drug delivery.

Source link

affects binding molecular Nanocrystal Shape
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

A new molecular model of bilayer graphene with higher semiconducting properties

May 31, 2025

New contact lenses allow wearers to see in the near-infrared

May 30, 2025

Ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification restores stainless steel’s corrosion resistance

May 7, 2025

Molecular nanocages can remove 80–90% of PFAS from water

April 23, 2025

Applying a magnetic field to rod-like viruses induces them to form disks of tunable shape and size

April 8, 2025

Nanosensor predicts risk of complications in early pregnancy

March 7, 2025

Comments are closed.

Top Articles
News

Rapid synthesis of gold microsphere array offers solution for advanced packaging in electronics

Medical

Wireless molecular-electrical communications for tumor-cell-induced apoptosis

News

Scientists use magnetic nanotech to safely rewarm frozen tissues for transplant

Editors Picks

A new molecular model of bilayer graphene with higher semiconducting properties

May 31, 2025

5 Nanomaterial Innovations That Didn’t Deliver (Yet)

May 30, 2025

Scientists identify new 2D copper boride material with unique atomic structure

May 30, 2025

New contact lenses allow wearers to see in the near-infrared

May 30, 2025
About Us
About Us

Your go-to source for the latest nanotechnology breakthroughs. Explore innovations, applications, and implications shaping the future at the molecular level. Stay informed, embrace the nano-revolution.

We're accepting new partnerships right now.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
Our Picks

The Rapid Expansion of the Carbon Nanotubes Market: 2023-2032 Forecast

October 17, 2023

Revolutionary nanodrones enable targeted cancer treatment

January 8, 2024

A new way to visualize brain cancer at the nanoscale level

February 7, 2024

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative Nano Tech news from Elnano.com

© 2025 Elnano.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Cleantalk Pixel