Cationic surfactants such as cetyl-trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) have the ability to self assemble with nanoparticles (NPs) to form a corona or a double-layered vesicular structure. These structures, upon further interaction with wormlike micelle (WLM) fragments, are hypothesized to form NP-micelle elastic networks. In this work, we show that self-assembly of metal NPs with WLMs in solution is a robust route for producing stable multicomponent plasmonic nanogels with remarkable color uniformity and tunable optical properties by varying size, shape and/or composition of the NPs [T. Cong et al., Applied Physics Letters, 99, 043112 (2011)]. The structure of the plasmonic nanogels was studied by small angle X-ray scattering and rheological experiments. Molecular Dynamics simulations suggest that vesicular NP-surfactant structures can form stable bridges with cylindrical micelles through two mechanisms, namely, end-cap opening and lateral attachment. The applications of the plasmonic nanogels to optofluidics and light trapping in photovoltaics will be discussed.

Experimental and molecular dynamics studies of self-assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles with wormlike micelles

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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