Nanosheets and Hydrogels Formed by 2 nm Metal-Organic Cages with Electrostatic Interaction.
Yuqing YangPavel RehakTing-Zheng XieYi FengXinyu SunJiahui ChenHui LiPetr KrálTianbo LiuPublished in: ACS applied materials & interfaces (2020)
We report the mechanism of hydrogel formation in dilute aqueous solutions (>15 mg/mL) by 2 nm metal-organic cages (MOCs). Experiments and all-atom simulations confirm that with the addition of small electrolytes, the MOCs self-assemble into 2D nanosheets via counterion-mediated attraction because of their unique molecular structure and charge distribution as well as σ-π interactions. The stiff nanosheets are difficult to bend into 3-D hollow, spherical blackberry type structures, as observed in many other macroion systems. Instead, they stay in solution and their very large excluded volumes lead to gelation at low (∼1.5 wt %) MOC concentrations, with additional help from hydrophobic and partial π-π interactions similar to the gelation of graphene oxides.
Keyphrases
- metal organic framework
- reduced graphene oxide
- quantum dots
- highly efficient
- drug delivery
- molecular dynamics
- photodynamic therapy
- ionic liquid
- hyaluronic acid
- transition metal
- visible light
- wound healing
- tissue engineering
- water soluble
- solid state
- gold nanoparticles
- high resolution
- room temperature
- molecular dynamics simulations
- molecularly imprinted
- drug release
- single molecule
- mass spectrometry
- carbon nanotubes
- light emitting
- solar cells
- ion batteries