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Entropically Driven Formation of Ultralong Helical Mesostructured Organosilica Nanofibers
Author(s) -
Zhong ShengLiang,
Zhang LinFei,
Xu AnWu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201300518
Subject(s) - pulmonary surfactant , materials science , counterion , micelle , cationic polymerization , nanofiber , chemical engineering , molecule , mesoporous material , nanotechnology , mesoporous organosilica , chemical physics , mesoporous silica , aqueous solution , organic chemistry , polymer chemistry , chemistry , ion , catalysis , engineering
Ultralong helical organosilica nanofibers (length up to millimeter) with ordered helical mesoporous channels are synthesized using achiral cationic surfactant as single‐structure‐directing agent and anionic citrate as counterions. The surfactant molecules form micelles for silica condensation and the counterions reduce the polarity of the surfactant‐silicate micelles via electrostatic balance, leading to the self‐assembly and growth of the final product. The detailed mechanistic shape‐shifting studies reveal that an entropy increase is the main driving force behind the plastic deformation of the solids.