Bioinspired selective synthesis of liquid-crystalline nanocomposites: formation of calcium carbonate-based composite nanodisks and nanorods.

ABSTRACT: Here we report new organic/inorganic hybrid colloidal liquid crystals that consist of colloidal calcium carbonate (CaCO₃)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) hybrid nanodisks. We selectively synthesized anisotropic liquid-crystalline CaCO₃-based nanodisk and nanorod composites in water/methanol mixtures, which formed discotic and calamitic nematic liquid crystals in their colloidal dispersions, respectively. The vaterite nanodisks and calcite nanorods were selectively synthesized in methanol-rich and water-rich solutions, respectively. The observation of these materials with transmission electron microscopy clarified the atomic-scale structures of these nanodisks and nanorods, revealing the self-organized CaCO₃/PAA hybrid structures with the ability to form colloidal

SUBMITTER: Nakayama M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9417261 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature