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Unveiling the Dynamical Assembly of Magnetic Nanocrystal Zig-Zag Chains via In Situ TEM Imaging in Liquid

Unveiling the Dynamical Assembly of Magnetic Nanocrystal Zig-Zag Chains via In Situ TEM Imaging in Liquid
Unveiling the Dynamical Assembly of Magnetic Nanocrystal Zig-Zag Chains via In Situ TEM Imaging in Liquid
The controlled assembly of colloidal magnetic nanocrystals is key to many applications such as nanoelectronics, storage memory devices, and nanomedicine. Here, the motion and ordering of ferrimagnetic nanocubes in water via liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy is directly imaged in situ. Through the experimental analysis, combined with molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical considerations, it is shown that the presence of highly competitive interactions leads to the formation of stable monomers and dimers, acting as nuclei, followed by a dynamic growth of zig-zag chain-like assemblies. It is demonstrated that such arrays can be explained by first, a maximization of short-range electrostatic interactions, which at a later stage become surpassed by magnetic forces acting through the easy magnetic axes of the nanocubes, causing their tilted orientation within the arrays. Moreover, in the confined volume of liquid in the experiments, interactions of the nanocube surfaces with the cell membranes, when irradiated at relatively low electron dose, slow down the kinetics of their self-assembly, facilitating the identification of different stages in the process. The study provides crucial insights for the formation of unconventional linear arrays made of ferrimagnetic nanocubes that are essential for their further exploitation in, for example, magnetic hyperthermia, magneto-transport devices, and nanotheranostic tools.
1613-6810
Arciniegas, Milena P.
9488b7d2-0bd1-4fb4-a01f-4f6646e8fdbe
Castelli, Andrea
67d63a55-5104-4048-9c64-a10b7fb45163
Brescia, Rosaria
041071bf-f294-41dc-8284-20e71ca97c07
Serantes, David
e67c0eb5-0630-445e-b878-eae2d06f7560
Ruta, Sergiu
47509d6b-adba-44a3-a2d4-1cac17bf8de7
Hovorka, Ondrej
a12bd550-ad45-4963-aa26-dd81dd1609ee
Satoh, Akira
23a0090b-7a69-4a5b-9839-3d738afa0eb8
Chantrell, Roy W.
e302f8d2-4450-4d1e-a944-50f40e93e7db
Pellegrino, Teresa
cb728d7e-81f2-4ceb-a635-96f68e03b6db
Arciniegas, Milena P.
9488b7d2-0bd1-4fb4-a01f-4f6646e8fdbe
Castelli, Andrea
67d63a55-5104-4048-9c64-a10b7fb45163
Brescia, Rosaria
041071bf-f294-41dc-8284-20e71ca97c07
Serantes, David
e67c0eb5-0630-445e-b878-eae2d06f7560
Ruta, Sergiu
47509d6b-adba-44a3-a2d4-1cac17bf8de7
Hovorka, Ondrej
a12bd550-ad45-4963-aa26-dd81dd1609ee
Satoh, Akira
23a0090b-7a69-4a5b-9839-3d738afa0eb8
Chantrell, Roy W.
e302f8d2-4450-4d1e-a944-50f40e93e7db
Pellegrino, Teresa
cb728d7e-81f2-4ceb-a635-96f68e03b6db

Arciniegas, Milena P., Castelli, Andrea, Brescia, Rosaria, Serantes, David, Ruta, Sergiu, Hovorka, Ondrej, Satoh, Akira, Chantrell, Roy W. and Pellegrino, Teresa (2020) Unveiling the Dynamical Assembly of Magnetic Nanocrystal Zig-Zag Chains via In Situ TEM Imaging in Liquid. Small, 16 (25), [1907419]. (doi:10.1002/smll.201907419).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The controlled assembly of colloidal magnetic nanocrystals is key to many applications such as nanoelectronics, storage memory devices, and nanomedicine. Here, the motion and ordering of ferrimagnetic nanocubes in water via liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy is directly imaged in situ. Through the experimental analysis, combined with molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical considerations, it is shown that the presence of highly competitive interactions leads to the formation of stable monomers and dimers, acting as nuclei, followed by a dynamic growth of zig-zag chain-like assemblies. It is demonstrated that such arrays can be explained by first, a maximization of short-range electrostatic interactions, which at a later stage become surpassed by magnetic forces acting through the easy magnetic axes of the nanocubes, causing their tilted orientation within the arrays. Moreover, in the confined volume of liquid in the experiments, interactions of the nanocube surfaces with the cell membranes, when irradiated at relatively low electron dose, slow down the kinetics of their self-assembly, facilitating the identification of different stages in the process. The study provides crucial insights for the formation of unconventional linear arrays made of ferrimagnetic nanocubes that are essential for their further exploitation in, for example, magnetic hyperthermia, magneto-transport devices, and nanotheranostic tools.

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More information

Published date: 27 May 2020
Additional Information: © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 470163
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470163
ISSN: 1613-6810
PURE UUID: 7213697b-a8b6-4406-89fd-b7a2c9b79433
ORCID for Ondrej Hovorka: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6707-4325

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 04 Oct 2022 16:38
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:33

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Contributors

Author: Milena P. Arciniegas
Author: Andrea Castelli
Author: Rosaria Brescia
Author: David Serantes
Author: Sergiu Ruta
Author: Ondrej Hovorka ORCID iD
Author: Akira Satoh
Author: Roy W. Chantrell
Author: Teresa Pellegrino

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