Network of Inorganic Nanocrystals Can Swell: Study of Swelling-Induced Surface Instability

초록

A unique organic-inorganic hybrid network composed of inorganic nanocores (ranging from semiconductors to metallic ones) interconnected through organic molecules can be produced by crosslinking the organic ligands of colloidal inorganic nanocrystals in assemblies. This work reports that this network, which is conventionally considered an inorganic film, can swell when exposed to a solvent because of the interaction between the solvent and the organic linkage within the network. Intriguingly, this work discovers that drying the solvent of the swollen organic-inorganic hybrid network can significantly affect the morphology owing to the swelling-induced compress stress, which is widely observed in various organic network systems. This work studies the surface instability of crosslinked organic-inorganic hybrid networks swollen by various organic solvents, which led to buckling delamination. Specifically, this work investigates the effects of the i) solvent-network interaction, ii) crosslinking density of the network, and iii) thickness of the film on the delamination behavior of the crosslinked network. A unique form of network comprising inorganic nanocrystals can be produced by crosslinking the organic encapsulants. The as-formed organic-inorganic hybrid network is capable of undergoing swelling-induced morphological response when exposed to solvents. This morphological response is tailored by three factors: i) the solvent-crosslinker interaction, ii) the crosslinking density of the network, and iii) the film thickness.image

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