1. Stimulus-responsive water soluble synthetic nanographene
- Author
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Yanpeng Zhu, Shuang Ma, Xiao-Peng He, Wei-Tao Dou, Jiaobing Wang, and Ying Chen
- Subjects
Work (thermodynamics) ,Aqueous solution ,Materials science ,Photothermal effect ,02 engineering and technology ,General Chemistry ,Atmospheric temperature range ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,Lower critical solution temperature ,0104 chemical sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,Thermal ,Irradiation ,0210 nano-technology ,Triethylene glycol - Abstract
Nanographenes (NGs) are exceptionally hydrophobic. They are insoluble in water, preventing the exploration and utilization of their photophysical properties under aqueous conditions. This work discloses an atomically precise water-soluble synthetic NG 1, featuring a 2 nm sp2 carbon skeleton appended with 12 branched triethylene glycol chains. It synergistically combines low critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior and a photothermal effect to create the first thermo- and photo-responsive atomically precise NG functioning in an aqueous solution. The LCST behavior can be attributed to a delicate balance of hydrophobic-hydrophilic interactions, providing a sensitive thermal response to changes over a temperature range of physiological interest (close to 37 °C). Moreover, 1 has considerable photothermal conversion capability, with irradiation of 1 in water by red or near infrared light increasing the solutions temperature to above the clouding point within seconds, leading to a reversible clear-to-turbid transition over many cycles without evident fatigue.
- Published
- 2021