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Shu-Hong Yu

Publications and source records attributed to Shu-Hong Yu.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Synthesis of supramolecular polymers by ionic self-assembly of oppositely charged dyes.

A new type of supramolecular polymer was prepared by ionic self-assembly (ISA) from two oppositely charged dyes; a perylenediimide and a copper-phthalocyanine derivative. Coulomb coupling stabilizes the whole structure, and a combination of charge-transfer interactions and discotic stacking facilitates the exclusive formation of one-dimensional polymeric chains. The supramolecular dye-polymers have a large association constant (2.4 x 10(7) L mol(-1)), high molecular weight, and high mechanical stability. The use of cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) confirmed the existence of extended fibers of width 2.4 nm. Further image analysis revealed slight undulation and faint segmentation of the fibers, and density maxima were observed at a regular interval of 3.6 nm along the fiber axis. The fiber-like structure (and aggregate of fibers) is also found in the solid state, as shown by the results of mineralization contrasting experiments, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray analyses. A structural model is proposed, in which the structural subunits, arranged in a side-by-side conformation, form a stacked structure.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Tectonic arrangement of BaCO3 nanocrystals into helices induced by a racemic block copolymer.

Morphosynthesis strategies inspired by biomineralization processes gives access to a wide range of fascinating and useful crystalline mesostructures. Biomimetic synthesis of inorganic materials with complex shapes can now be used to control the nucleation, tensorial growth, and alignment of inorganic crystals in a way previously not practicable. Double hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs) consisting of a hydrophilic block strongly interacting with inorganic minerals, and a non-interacting hydrophilic block, were recently introduced for the control of mineralization reactions. DHBCs are 'improved versions' of the previously used polyelectrolytes or amphiphiles and are extraordinarily effective in crystallization control. Here, we report on the formation of helices of achiral BaCO(3) nanocrystals in the presence of a racemic DHBC suggesting that a helical alignment can be induced by racemic polymers through selective adsorption on the (110) face of nanocrystals. This mechanism is the key for a better understanding of the self-assembly of chiral organic-inorganic superstructures that don't follow a direct template route.

Barium Compounds↗
PubMed2004

Solvent effect on mineral modification: selective synthesis of cerium compounds by a facile solution route.

A mild solution method has been designed for the selective synthesis of orthorhombic and hexagonal CeOHCO(3), as well as cubic CeO(2) crystals in an ethanol/water mixed solvent. This study added a new example for selectively controlling different cerium compounds by manipulating the balance between kinetics and thermodynamics in a mixed solvent system. The competitive reactions taking place in the ethanol/water system, phase transition, and shape evolution were fully investigated: they were found to be strongly dependent on the composition of the reaction media. The influence of the ethanol content in the mixed solvent and that of the reaction time on the phase transition and shape of orthorhombic and hexagonal CeOHCO(3) crystals is discussed in detail. Metastable hexagonal CeOHCO(3) can be trapped, even at 80 degrees C, in the ethanol/water solvent mixture without the need for the high temperature adopted by previous hydrothermal approaches. The evolution process of orthorhombic and metastable hexagonal phases under mild solution conditions is discussed for the first time. Supersaturation will become faster and more evident when water is replaced by ethanol, because the inorganic salts have a lower solubility in ethanol than in water, and this will generally favor the formation of the kinetic phase, such as the hexagonal CeOHCO(3) phase reported in this paper. The optical properties of the products with different phases and composition were investigated.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Selective synthesis and characterization of single-crystal silver molybdate/tungstate nanowires by a hydrothermal process.

Selective synthesis of uniform single crystalline silver molybdate/tungstate nanorods/nanowires in large scale can be easily realized by a facile hydrothermal recrystallization technique. The synthesis is strongly dependent on the pH conditions, temperature, and reaction time. The phase transformation was examined in details. Pure Ag(2)MoO(4) and Ag(6)Mo(10)O(33) can be easily obtained under neutral condition and pH 2, respectively, whereas other mixed phases of Mo(17)O(47), Ag(2)Mo(2)O(7,) Ag(6)Mo(10)O(33) were observed under different pH conditions. Ag(6)Mo(10)O(33) nanowires with uniform diameter 50-60 nm and length up to several hundred micrometers were synthesized in large scale for the first time at 140 degrees C. The melting point of Ag(6)Mo(10)O(33) nanowires were found to be about 238 degrees C. Similarly, Ag(2)WO(4), and Ag(2)W(2)O(7) nanorods/nanowires can be selectively synthesized by controlling pH value. The results demonstrated that this route could be a potential mild way to selectively synthesize various molybdate nanowires with various phases in large scale.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Formation and optical properties of gold nanoparticles synthesized in the presence of double-hydrophilic block copolymers.

In this article, we present a systematic, controlled synthesis of water-dispersed, polymer-stabilized Au nanoparticles with different sizes by either self-reduction or ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-enhanced reduction in the presence of double hydrophilic block copolymers with different functional patterns. The morphology of the particles was found to be spherical, triangular, truncated triangular, and hexagonal under various conditions. In addition, both the particle size and shape could be controlled by variation of the functional group pattern of the block copolymers. With a hexacyclen functional block, we achieved a perfect match to the Au (111) face, resulting in extremely thin free-standing triangular and hexagonal nanoplatelets that show interference patterns in the electron beam due to deformations in the sub-Angstrom range. UV-visible spectra show that the plasmon absorption band can be fine tuned, depending on the type of the polymer and the irradiation power. The influence of the functional polymer groups and the irradiation on the formation of gold nanoparticles was investigated in more detail.

Colloids↗
PubMed2002

Control of the morphogenesis of barium chromate by using double-hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs) as crystal growth modifiers.

A systematic morphosynthesis of barium chromate particles has been performed by using double-hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs), which consist of a hydrophilic solvating block and a hydrophilic binding block, as crystal growth modifiers to direct the controlled precipitation of barium chromate from aqueous solution. Several kinds of DHBCs with different functional groups -COOH, -PO3H2, -SO3H, -SH as well as PEG-poly(aminoamine) block-dendrimer copolymers were explored for crystallization and morphology control of barium chromate. Well-defined morphologies of BaCrO4 particles can be produced, such as more or less dendritic X-shaped, elongated X-shaped, or rodlike particles, flower-like plates, ellipsoids, spheres, nanofiber bundles, nanofibers, and other more complex morphologies. In the presence of the phosphonated copolymer PEG-b-PMAA-PO3H2 (degree of phosphonation: 21%) at pH 5, large conelike bundles of nanofibers ranging from 10 to 20 nm in diameter with lengths up to 150 microns can be produced at room temperature, whereas replacement of the covalently bound phosphonate groups by the ionic salt analogue dopant fails to produce this structure, indicating the importance of the functional polymer block structures. The time-resolved formation process of the bundles of nanofibres was investigated, showing a remarkable self-similarity. At temperatures higher than 50 degrees C, in plastic flasks or when undergoing continuous stirring, only ellipsoids or nearly spherical particles can be obtained. This shows that the fiber formation relies on heterogeneous nucleation and is in agreement with a recently published mechanism where fiber formation is due to the vectorially directed self-assembly of primary particles. Our results demonstrate that the integration of DHBCs, taking advantage of the experimental conditions such as crystallization sites, temperature, pH, and reactant concentration, will extend the possibilities for controlling the shape, size, and microstructures of the inorganic crystals by means of a simple mineralization process.

Journal Article↗