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Supraparticles (SPs) consisting of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are of great interest for biomedical applications and magnetic separation. To enable their functionalization with biomolecules and to improve their stability in aqueous dispersion, polymer shells are grown on the SPs' surface. Robust polymer encapsulation and functionalization is achieved via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), improving the reaction control compared to free radical polymerizations. This study presents the emulsion-based assembly of differently sized cubic SPIONs (12-30 nm) into SPs with diameters ranging from ∼200 to ∼400 nm using dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) as the surfactant. The successful formation of well-defined spherical SPs depends upon the method used for mixing the SPION dispersion with the surfactant solution and requires the precise adjustment of the surfactant concentration. After purification, the SPs are encapsulated by growing surface-grafted polystyrene shells via activators generated by electron transfer (AGET) ATRP. The polymer shell can be decorated with functional groups (azide and carboxylate) using monomer blends for the polymerization reaction. When the amount of the monomer is varied, the shell thickness as well as the interparticle distances between the encapsulated SPIONs can be tuned with nanometer-scale precision. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) reveals that cubic SPIONs form less ordered assemblies within the SPs than spherical SPIONs. As shown by vibrating sample magnetometer measurements, the encapsulated SPs feature the same superparamagnetic behavior as their SPION building blocks. The saturation magnetization ranges between 10 and 30 emu/g and depends upon the nanocubes' size and phase composition.

Nanocrystal assembly into ordered structures provides mesostructural functional materials with a precise control that starts at the atomic scale. However, the lack of understanding on the self-assembly itself plus the poor structural integrity of the resulting supercrystalline materials still limits their application into engineered materials and devices. Surface functionalization of the nanobuilding blocks with organic ligands can be used not only as a means to control the interparticle interactions during self-assembly but also as a reactive platform to further strengthen the final material via ligand cross-linking. Here, we explore the influence of the ligands on superlattice formation and during cross-linking via thermal annealing. We elucidate the effect of the surface functionalization on the nanostructure during self-assembly and show how the ligand-promoted superlattice changes subsequently alter the cross-linking behavior. By gaining further insights on the chemical species derived from the thermally activated cross-linking and its effect in the overall mechanical response, we identify an oxidative radical polymerization as the main mechanism responsible for the ligand cross-linking. In the cascade of reactions occurring during the surface-ligands polymerization, the nanocrystal core material plays a catalytic role, being strongly affected by the anchoring group of the surface ligands. Ultimately, we demonstrate how the found mechanistic insights can be used to adjust the mechanical and nanostructural properties of the obtained nanocomposites. These results enable engineering supercrystalline nanocomposites with improved cohesion while preserving their characteristic nanostructure, which is required to achieve the collective properties for broad functional applications.

This work presents a facile one-step protocol for the gram-scale synthesis of iron oxide nanocubes with adjustable sizes ranging from 13 to 20 nm and with size distributions between 7 and 12%. As X-ray diffraction indicated the initial formation of the wüstite phase, a formation mechanism of the nanocubes based on the wüstite crystal structure is proposed. When exposed to ambient conditions, the nanoparticles rapidly oxidize to magnetite/maghemite with a remaining wüstite core. The cubic morphology is attributed to the thermodynamic stability of the exposed {100} facets and the control over the growth rate via the use of a sodium oleate/oleic acid mixed ligand system. In contrast to previously reported procedures, the described synthetic approach does not require the initial preparation and isolation of iron oleate. Therefore, the amount of work and the consumption of hazardous solvents are significantly reduced. Thus, the method presented is much more efficient and environmentally more friendly while maintaining excellent control over the particles' shape, size, and size distribution.

Multiscale ceramic-organic supercrystalline nanocomposites with two levels of hierarchy have been developed via self-assembly with tailored content of the organic phase. These nanocomposites consist of organically functionalized ceramic nanoparticles forming supercrystalline micron-sized grains, which are in turn embedded in an organic-rich matrix. By applying an additional heat treatment step at mild temperatures (250-350 °C), the mechanical properties of the hierarchical nanocomposites are here enhanced. The heat treatment leads to partial removal and crosslinking of the organic phase, minimizing the volume occupied by the nanocomposites' soft phase and triggering the formation of covalent bonds through the organic ligands interfacing the ceramic nanoparticles. Elastic modulus and hardness up to 45 and 2.5 GPa are attained, while the hierarchical microstructure is preserved. The presence of an organic phase between the supercrystalline grains provides a toughening effect, by curbing indentation-induced cracks. A mapping of the nanocomposites' mechanical properties reveals the presence of multiple microstructural features and how they evolve with heat treatment temperature. A comparison with non-hierarchical, homogeneous supercrystalline nanocomposites with lower organic content confirms how the hierarchy-inducing organic excess results in toughening, while maintaining the beneficial effects of crosslinking on the materials' stiffness and hardness.

Supercrystalline nanocomposite materials with micromechanical properties approaching those of nacre or similar structural biomaterials can be produced by self-assembly of organically modified nanoparticles and further strengthened by cross-linking. The strengthening of these nanocomposites is controlled via thermal treatment, which promotes the formation of covalent bonds between interdigitated ligands on the nanoparticle surface. In this work, it is shown how the extent of the mechanical properties enhancement can be controlled by the solvent used during the self-assembly step. We find that the resulting mechanical properties correlate with the Hansen solubility parameters of the solvents and ligands used for the supercrystal assembly: the hardness and elastic modulus decrease as the Hansen solubility parameter of the solvent approaches the Hansen solubility parameter of the ligands that stabilize the nanoparticles. Moreover, it is shown that self-assembled supercrystals that are subsequently uniaxially pressed can deform up to 6 %. The extent of this deformation is also closely related to the solvent used during the self-assembly step. These results indicate that the conformation and arrangement of the organic ligands on the nanoparticle surface not only control the self-assembly itself but also influence the mechanical properties of the resulting supercrystalline material. The Hansen solubility parameters may therefore serve as a tool to predict what solvents and ligands should be used to obtain supercrystalline materials with good mechanical properties.

Most applications of nanoparticles require robust stabilization, for example, by surface-bound ligands or the encapsulation within polymer shells. Furthermore, for biomedical applications, the particles must be dispersible in a complex biological environment. Thus, high-quality nanoparticles synthesized in organic solvents must be transferred into aqueous media. Here, we present a novel scalable method enabling the robust hydrophilic encapsulation of non-agglomerated nanoparticles by growing polystyrene shells via AGET-ATRP in microemulsion. To demonstrate this approach, we encapsulate iron oxide nanoparticles (diameter: 13.7 ± 0.6 nm). Because the ATRP initiator is grafted onto the nanoparticles' surface, the shells are covalently attached to the iron oxide cores. By varying the amount of monomers, the shell thickness can be adjusted precisely, as indicated by the increasing hydrodynamic size from ∼22 to 26 nm (DLS, number mean) with an increasing amount of added monomers. Moreover, the degree of cross-linking can be controlled by the amount of added divinylbenzene (DVB). To evaluate the robustness of the polymer shells against ion infusion, we introduce a novel colorimetric method, which is based on the formation of the red iron thiocyanate complex. After addition of HCl, the increase in absorbance at 468 nm indicates leaching of iron ions from the polymer-encapsulated core particles. These measurements confirm that with increasing shell thickness, significantly improved shielding is achieved. Furthermore, high concentrations of added DVB [33-50% (v/v) in a monomer mixture] improve the shielding effect. However, when smaller amounts of DVB were added [10-25% (v/v)], the shielding effect was diminished, even in comparison to non-cross-linked polymer shells. This finding suggests a higher porosity of shells with a low degree of cross-linking.

Biomaterials often display outstanding combinations of mechanical properties thanks to their hierarchical structuring, which occurs through a dynamically and biologically controlled growth and self-assembly of their main constituents, typically mineral and protein. However, it is still challenging to obtain this ordered multiscale structural organization in synthetic 3D-nanocomposite materials. Herein, we report a new bottom-up approach for the synthesis of macroscale hierarchical nanocomposite materials in a single step. By controlling the content of organic phase during the self-assembly of monodisperse organically-modified nanoparticles (iron oxide with oleyl phosphate), either purely supercrystalline or hierarchically structured supercrystalline nanocomposite materials are obtained. Beyond a critical concentration of organic phase, a hierarchical material is consistently formed. In such a hierarchical material, individual organically-modified ceramic nanoparticles (Level 0) self-assemble into supercrystals in face-centered cubic superlattices (Level 1), which in turn form granules of up to hundreds of micrometers (Level 2). These micrometric granules are the constituents of the final mm-sized material. This approach demonstrates that the local concentration of organic phase and nano-building blocks during self-assembly controls the final material's microstructure, and thus enables the fine-tuning of inorganic-organic nanocomposites' mechanical behavior, paving the way towards the design of novel high-performance structural materials.

Seeded emulsion polymerization is a powerful universal method to produce ultrasmall multifunctional magnetic nanohybrids. In a two-step procedure, iron oxide nanocrystals were initially encapsulated in a polystyrene (PS) shell and subsequently used as beads for a controlled assembly of elongated quantum dots/quantum rods (QDQRs). The synthesis of a continuous PS shell allows the whole construct to be fixed and the composition of the nanohybrid to be tuned. The fluorescence of the QDQRs and magnetism of iron oxide were perfectly preserved, as confirmed by single-particle investigation, fluorescence decay measurements, and relaxometry. Bio-functionalization of the hybrids was straightforward, involving copolymerization of appropriate affinity ligands as shown by immunoblot analysis. Additionally, the universality of this method was shown by the embedment of a broad scale of NPs., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)