Sonication-enabled rapid production of stable liquid metal nanoparticles grafted with poly(1-octadecene-: Alt -maleic anhydride) in aqueous solutions

Gallium-based liquid metals are attractive due to their unique combination of metallic and fluidic properties. Liquid metal nanoparticles (LM NPs), produced readily using sonication, find use in soft electronics, drug delivery, and other applications. However, LM NPs in aqueous solutions tend to oxidize and precipitate over time, which hinders their utility in systems that require long-term stability. Here, we introduce a facile route to rapidly produce an aqueous suspension of stable LM NPs within five minutes. We accomplish this by dissolving poly(1-octadecene-alt-maleic anhydride) (POMA) in toluene and mixing with deionized water in the presence of a liquid metal (LM). Sonicating the mixture results in the formation of toluene-POMA emulsions that embed the LM NPs; as the toluene evaporates, POMA coats the particles. Due to the POMA hydrophobic coating, the LM NPs remain stable in biological buffers for at least 60 days without noticeable oxidation, as confirmed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Further stabilization is achieved by tuning the LM composition. This paper elucidates the stabilization mechanisms. The stable LM NPs possess the potential to advance the use of LM in biomedical applications.

10.1039/c8nr05600e

2040-3364

19871-19878

Lin, Yiliang

e6d919e1-9c9f-4600-a4e6-49b0672509d4

Genzer, Jan

7cbd2307-8b73-4eac-aa98-b96cfcabf262

Li, Weihua

e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e

Qiao, Ruirui

cf0ce629-af33-47c2-81c5-6d62ccf80f7e

Dickey, Michael D.

5fe7588c-05b3-4e27-a023-e9a5cb72a305

Tang, Shi Yang

1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4

14 November 2018

Lin, Yiliang

e6d919e1-9c9f-4600-a4e6-49b0672509d4

Genzer, Jan

7cbd2307-8b73-4eac-aa98-b96cfcabf262

Li, Weihua

e2555036-0e48-425a-afeb-db6ffba5238e

Qiao, Ruirui

cf0ce629-af33-47c2-81c5-6d62ccf80f7e

Dickey, Michael D.

5fe7588c-05b3-4e27-a023-e9a5cb72a305

Tang, Shi Yang

1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4

Lin, Yiliang, Genzer, Jan, Li, Weihua, Qiao, Ruirui, Dickey, Michael D. and Tang, Shi Yang (2018) Sonication-enabled rapid production of stable liquid metal nanoparticles grafted with poly(1-octadecene-: Alt -maleic anhydride) in aqueous solutions. Nanoscale, 10 (42), 19871-19878. (doi:10.1039/c8nr05600e).

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Published date: 14 November 2018

Additional Information: Funding Information: Dr Shi-Yang Tang is the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship funded by the University of Wollongong. Dr Shi-Yang Tang and Dr Weihua Li acknowledge funding from the University of Wollongong, University Internationalization Committee (UIC) Grant. Yiliang Lin and Dr Michael Dickey acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation through the Research Triangle MRSEC (DMR-1121107). We thank Mr Steven Zboray for the helpful discussions. The authors acknowledge the use of the facilities and the assistance of Dr David Mitchell at the UOW Electron Microscopy Centre and the use of the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at North Carolina State University, which is supported by the State of North Carolina and the National Science Foundation (award number ECCS-1542015). Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry.