Biomineral-Inspired Colloidal Liquid Crystals: From Assembly of Hybrids Comprising Inorganic Nanocrystals and Organic Polymer Components to Their Functionalization
Masanari Nakayama, Takashi Kato
Abstract
- and HAp-based nanostructured particles with rod and disk shapes. These were obtained in aqueous media using a macromolecular acidic additive, PAA, without using insoluble polymer templates. At appropriate concentrations, the anisotropic particles self-assembled and formed colloidal liquid-crystalline (LC) phases.LC materials are generally composed of organic molecules. They show ordered and mobile states. The addition of stimuli-responsive properties to organic rod-like LC molecules led to the successful development of informational displays, which are now widely used. On the other hand, colloidal liquid crystals are colloidal self-assembled dispersions of anisotropic organic and inorganic nano- and micro-objects. For example, polysaccharide whiskers, clay nanosheets, gibbsite plate-shaped particles, and silica rod-shaped particles exhibit colloidal LC states.In this Account, we focused on the material design and hierarchical aspects of biomineral-based colloidal LC polymer/inorganic composites. We describe the design and preparation, nanostructures, and self-assembled behavior of these new bioinspired and biocompatible self-organized materials. The characterization results for these self-assembled nanostructured colloidal liquid crystals found using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, and neutron scattering and rheological measurements are also reported. The functions of these biomineral-inspired liquid crystals are presented. Because these biomineral-based LC colloidal liquid crystals can be prepared under mild and aqueous conditions and they consist of environmentally friendly and biocompatible components, new functions are expected for these materials.