Soft Matter Gallery

 

 

Magnetic field induced quantum dot brightening

Magnetic field induced quantum dot brightening in liquid crystal synergized magnetic and semiconducting nanoparticle composite assemblies” 
Jose Jussi Amaral,   Jacky Wan,   Andrea L. Rodarte,  Christopher Ferri,   Makiko T. Quint,  Ronald J. Pandolfi, Michael Scheibner,  Linda S. Hirst and   Sayantani Ghosh, Soft Matter (2014)

The design and development of multifunctional composite materials from artificial nano-constituents is one of the most compelling current research areas. This drive to improve over nature and produce ‘meta-materials’ has met with some success, but results have proven limited with regards to both the demonstration of synergistic functionalities and in the ability to manipulate the material properties post-fabrication and in situ. Here, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) are co-assembled in a nematic liquid crystalline (LC) matrix, forming composite structures in which the emission intensity of the quantum dots is systematically and reversibly controlled with a small applied magnetic field (<100 mT). This magnetic field-driven brightening, ranging between a two- to three-fold peak intensity increase, is a truly cooperative effect: the LC phase transition creates the co-assemblies, the clustering of the MNPs produces LC re-orientation at atypical low external field, and this re-arrangement produces compaction of the clusters, resulting in the detection of increased QD emission. These results demonstrate a synergistic, reversible, and an all-optical process to detect magnetic fields and additionally, as the clusters are self-assembled in a fluid medium, they offer the possibility for these sensors to be used in broad ranging fluid-based applications.