Institute of Chemistry
Etienne Duguet
Université de Bordeaux, Institut de Chimie
de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 11:00 a.m
Room 5.
Transposing the concepts of atoms and molecules to the colloidal scale: towards materials obtained by self-assembly of patch particles
In recent years, it has become clear that a number of the materials of the future will be obtained by assembling elementary building blocks of submicrometer size. To control
the structure of these materials, whether in 1, 2 or 3 dimensions, it is essential to encode in these elementary bricks the instructions that will authorize (or not) specific interactions
in privileged directions. Simulations have already demonstrated the value of this concept of "patch" particles. The challenge now lies with chemists, who must find ways of manufacturing them both precisely (number, orientation and size of patches) and in large quantities.
The solution we are exploring involves colloidal molecules, i.e. robust clusters of spherical particles that mimic simple molecules (made up of a single central atom). These clusters are made up of a silica core and polystyrene satellites obtained using a seeded emulsion polymerization recipe
emulsion polymerization recipe.
We'll be looking not only at how to finely control the structure of these clusters, but also at how to chemically modify them, in particular to transform them into patch particles.
