Unique orientation of 1D and 2D nanoparticle assemblies confined in smectic topological defects

Haifa Jeridi; Jean de Dieu Niyonzima; Charbel Sakr; Amine Missaoui; Sharif Shahini; Alina Vlad; Alessandro Coati; Nicolas Goubet; Sébastien Royer; Ian Vickridge; Michel Goldmann; Doru Constantin; Yves Garreau; David Babonneau; Bernard Croset; Bruno Gallas; Emmanuel Lhuillier; Emmanuelle Lacaze

doi:10.1039/D2SM00376G

Unique orientation of 1D and 2D nanoparticle assemblies confined in smectic topological defects†

Haifa Jeridi,

^ab Jean de Dieu Niyonzima,^ac Charbel Sakr,^ad Amine Missaoui,

^a Sharif Shahini,

^ae Alina Vlad,

^f Alessandro Coati,

^f Nicolas Goubet,^g Sébastien Royer,^a Ian Vickridge,

^a Michel Goldmann,

^af Doru Constantin,

^h Yves Garreau,

^fi David Babonneau,

^j Bernard Croset,^a Bruno Gallas,^a Emmanuel Lhuillier

^a and Emmanuelle Lacaze

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut des Nano-Sciences de Paris (INSP), F-75005 Paris, France
E-mail: emmanuelle.lacaze@insp.jussieu.fr
Tel: +33 144 274 654

^b OMNES Education Research Center, ECE Paris, 37 Quai de Grenelle, 75015 Paris, France

^c Physics department, School of Science, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, Po. Box: 3900, Kigali, Rwanda

^d European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France

^e Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, 162a, Avenue de la Faencerie, Luxembourg

^f Synchrotron SOLEIL, BP 48, L'Orme des Merisiers, 91192 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France

^g CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire de la Molécule aux Nano-objets; Réactivité, Interactions et Spectroscopies MONARIS, 4 Pl Jussieu, Case Co, F-75005 Paris, France

^h Université de Strasbourg, Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS UPR022, 67034 Strasbourg Cedex, France

ⁱ Université Paris Cité, Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques, CNRS, F-75013 Paris, France

^j Departement Physique et Mecanique des Materiaux, Institut P', UPR 3346 CNRS, Université de Poitiers SP2MI, TSA 41123, 86073 Poitiers cedex 9, France

Abstract

New collective optical properties have emerged recently from organized and oriented arrays of closely packed semiconducting and metallic nanoparticles (NPs). However, it is still challenging to obtain NP assemblies which are similar everywhere on a given sample and, most importantly, share a unique common orientation that would guarantee a unique behavior everywhere on the sample. In this context, by combining optical microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and synchrotron-based grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GISAXS) of assemblies of gold nanospheres and of fluorescent nanorods, we study the interactions between NPs and liquid crystal smectic topological defects that can ultimately lead to unique NP orientations. We demonstrate that arrays of one-dimensional – 1D (dislocations) and two-dimensional – 2D (grain boundaries) topological defects oriented along one single direction confine and organize NPs in closely packed networks but also orient both single nanorods and NP networks along the same direction. Through the comparison between smectic films associated with different kinds of topological defects, we highlight that the coupling between the NP ligands and the smectic layers below the grain boundaries may be necessary to allow for fixed NP orientation. This is in contrast with 1D defects, where the induced orientation of the NPs is intrinsically induced by the confinement independently of the ligand nature. We thus succeeded in achieving the fixed polarization of assemblies of single photon emitters in defects. For gold nanospheres confined in grain boundaries, a strict orientation of hexagonal networks has been obtained with the 〈10〉 direction strictly parallel to the defects. With such closely packed and oriented NPs, new collective properties are now foreseen.

This article is part of the themed collection: Soft Matter Editorial Board Highlights of 2022

Soft Matter

Unique orientation of 1D and 2D nanoparticle assemblies confined in smectic topological defects†

Abstract

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Unique orientation of 1D and 2D nanoparticle assemblies confined in smectic topological defects

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