TY - JOUR A1 - Ihlenburg, R. B. J. A1 - Mai, T. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Baerenwald, R. A1 - Saalwächter, K. A1 - Koetz, J. A1 - Taubert, A. T1 - Sulfobetaine Hydrogels with a Complex Multilength-Scale Hierarchical Structure N2 - Hydrogels with a hierarchical structure were prepared from a new highly water-soluble crosslinker N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-N,N′-bis(2-ethylmethacrylate)-propyl-1,3-diammonium dibromide and from the sulfobetaine monomer 2-(N-3-sulfopropyl-N,N-dimethyl ammonium)ethyl methacrylate. The free radical polymerization of the two compounds is rapid and yields near-transparent hydrogels with sizes up to 5 cm in diameter. Rheology shows a clear correlation between the monomer-to-crosslinker ratio and the storage and loss moduli of the hydrogels. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering show that the gels have a hierarchical structure with features spanning the nanometer to the sub-millimeter scale. The NMR study is challenged by the marked inhomogeneity of the gels and the complex chemical structure of the sulfobetaine monomer. NMR spectroscopy shows how these complications can be addressed via a novel fitting approach that considers the mobility gradient along the side chain of methacrylate-based monomers. KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - Gel PY - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10601 SN - 1520-6106 VL - 125 IS - 13 SP - 3398 EP - 3408 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-52403 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liebig, F. A1 - Sarhan, R. M. A1 - Prietzel, C. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Bargheer, M. A1 - Koetz, J. T1 - Undulated Gold Nanoplatelet Superstructures: In Situ Growth of Hemispherical Gold Nanoparticles onto the Surface of Gold Nanotriangles N2 - Negatively charged flat gold nanotriangles, formed in a vesicular template phase and separated by an AOT-micelle-based depletion flocculation, were reloaded by adding a cationic polyelectrolyte, that is, a hyperbranched polyethylenimine (PEI). Heating the system to 100 °C in the presence of a gold chloride solution, the reduction process leads to the formation of gold nanoparticles inside the polymer shell surrounding the nanoplatelets. The gold nanoparticle formation is investigated by UV−vis spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, and dynamic light scattering measurements in combination with transmission electron microscopy. Spontaneously formed gold clusters in the hyperbranched PEI shell with an absorption maximum at 350 nm grow on the surface of the nanotriangles as hemispherical particles with diameters of ∼6 nm. High-resolution micrographs show that the hemispherical gold particles are crystallized onto the {111} facets on the bottom and top of the platelet as well as on the edges without a grain boundary. Undulated gold nanoplatelet superstructures with special properties become available, which show a significantly modified performance in SERS-detected photocatalysis regarding both reactivity and enhancement factor. KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - gold KW - nanoparticle PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b02898 SN - 0743-7463 VL - 34 IS - 15 SP - 4584 EP - 4594 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-44704 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fortes Martin, R. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Stockmann, Jörg M. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Koetz, J. T1 - From Nanoparticle Heteroclusters to Filament Networks by Self-Assembly at the Water–Oil Interface of Reverse Microemulsions N2 - Surface self-assembly of spherical nanoparticles of sizes below 10 nm into hierarchical heterostructures is under arising development despite the inherent difficulties of obtaining complex ordering patterns on a larger scale. Due to template-mediated interactions between oil-dispersible superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and polyethylenimine-stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au(PEI)NPs) at the water–oil interface of microemulsions, complex nanostructured films can be formed. Characterization of the reverse microemulsion phase by UV–vis absorption revealed the formation of heteroclusters from Winsor type II phases (WPII) using Aerosol-OT (AOT) as the surfactant. SAXS measurements verify the mechanism of initial nanoparticle clustering in defined dimensions. XPS suggested an influence of AOT at the MNP surface. Further, cryo-SEM and TEM visualization demonstrated the elongation of the reverse microemulsions into cylindrical, wormlike structures, which subsequently build up larger nanoparticle superstructure arrangements. Such WPII phases are thus proven to be a new form of soft template, mediating the self-assembly of different nanoparticles in hierarchical network-like filaments over a substrate during solvent evaporation. KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - Nanoparticle KW - Nano structure PY - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01348 VL - 37 IS - 29 SP - 8876 EP - 8885 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-53034 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liebig, F. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Koetz, J. T1 - Ostwald Ripening Growth Mechanism of Gold Nanotriangles in Vesicular Template Phases N2 - The mechanism of nanotriangle formation in multivesicular vesicles (MMV) is investigated by using time-dependent SAXS measurements in combination with UV−vis spectroscopy, light, and transmission electron microscopy. In the first time period 6.5 nm sized spherical gold nanoparticles are formed inside of the vesicles, which build up soft nanoparticle aggregates. In situ SAXS experiments show a linear increase of the volume and molar mass of nanotriangles in the second time period. The volume growth rate of the triangles is 16.1 nm3/min, and the growth rate in the vertical direction is only 0.02 nm/min. Therefore, flat nanotriangles with a thickness of 7 nm and a diameter of 23 nm are formed. This process can be described by a diffusionlimited Ostwald ripening growth mechanism. TEM micrographs visualize soft coral-like structures with thin nanoplatelets at the periphery of the aggregates, which disaggregate in the third time period into nanotriangles and spherical particles. The 16 times faster growth of nanotriangles in the lateral than that in the vertical direction is related to the adsorption of symmetry breaking components, i.e., AOT and the polyampholyte PalPhBisCarb, on the {111} facets of the gold nanoplatelets in combination with confinement effects of the vesicular template phase. KW - Gold KW - Nanoparticle KW - Small-angle x-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - Kinetics PY - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-379261 SN - 0743-7463 VL - 32 IS - 42 SP - 10928 EP - 10935 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-37926 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liebig, F. A1 - Sarhan, R. M. A1 - Schmitt, C. N. Z. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Prietzel, C. A1 - Bargheer, M. A1 - Koetz, J. T1 - Gold Nanotriangles with Crumble Topping and their Influence on Catalysis and Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy N2 - By adding hyaluronic acid (HA) to dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT)‐stabilized gold nanotriangles (AuNTs) with an average thickness of 7.5±1 nm and an edge length of about 175±17 nm, the AOT bilayer is replaced by a polymeric HA‐layer leading to biocompatible nanoplatelets. The subsequent reduction process of tetrachloroauric acid in the HA‐shell surrounding the AuNTs leads to the formation of spherical gold nanoparticles on the platelet surface. With increasing tetrachloroauric acid concentration, the decoration with gold nanoparticles can be tuned. SAXS measurements reveal an increase of the platelet thickness up to around 14.5 nm, twice the initial value of bare AuNTs. HRTEM micrographs show welding phenomena between densely packed particles on the platelet surface, leading to a crumble formation while preserving the original crystal structure. Crumbles crystallized on top of the platelets enhance the Raman signal by a factor of around 20, and intensify the plasmon‐driven dimerization of 4‐nitrothiophenol (4‐NTP) to 4,4′‐dimercaptoazobenzene in a yield of up to 50 %. The resulting crumbled nanotriangles, with a biopolymer shell and the absorption maximum in the second window for in vivo imaging, are promising candidates for biomedical sensing. KW - SAXS KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - Nanoparticle KW - Gold PY - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-503977 VL - 85 IS - 3 SP - 519 EP - 526 PB - Wiley-VCH Verlag CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-50397 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -