Volume 57, Issue 48 pp. 15707-15711
Communication

Direct Synthesis and Pseudomorphic Transformation of Mixed Metal Oxide Nanostructures with Non-Close-Packed Hollow Sphere Arrays

Dr. Zhendong Liu

Dr. Zhendong Liu

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

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Wenyang Zhao

Wenyang Zhao

Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

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Prashant Kumar

Prashant Kumar

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

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Xinyu Li

Xinyu Li

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

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Prof. Yasser Al Wahedi

Prof. Yasser Al Wahedi

Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Sas Al Nakhl Campus, P.O. Box 2533, Abu Dhabi, United Arabian Emirates

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Prof. K. Andre Mkhoyan

Prof. K. Andre Mkhoyan

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

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Prof. Michael Tsapatsis

Corresponding Author

Prof. Michael Tsapatsis

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

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Prof. Andreas Stein

Corresponding Author

Prof. Andreas Stein

Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA

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First published: 18 October 2018
Citations: 7

Graphical Abstract

Airy architecture: A new concept for the fabrication of nanostructures featuring 3D ordered, non-close-packed hollow sphere arrays is demonstrated through controlling dynamic changes in interfacial properties between template and precursor. The polymeric colloidal crystal provides defined confinement through its tetrahedral and octahedral voids where the arrays are formed as a result of a crystallization-induced rearrangement.

Abstract

While bottom-up syntheses of ordered nanostructured materials at colloidal length scales have been successful at producing close-packed materials, it is more challenging to synthesize non-close-packed (ncp) structures. Here, a metal oxide nanostructure with ncp hollow sphere arrays was synthesized by combining a polymeric colloidal crystal template (CCT) with a Pechini precursor. The CCT provided defined confinement through its tetrahedral (Td) and octahedral (Oh) voids where the three-dimensionally (3D) ordered, ncp hollow sphere arrays formed as a result of a crystallization-induced rearrangement. This nanostructure, consisting of alternating, interconnected large and small hollow spheres, is distinct from the inverse opal structures typically generated from these CCTs. The morphology of the ncp hollow sphere arrays was retained in pseudomorphic transformations involving sulfidation and reoxidation cycling despite the segregation of zinc during these steps.

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