Incorporation of fluorescent microgels inside calcite single crystals
Xinyi Jin,
Jinqiao Xue,
Dong Hee Kang,
Yujing Liu,
Jie Ren,
Quan Wen,
Dapeng Hu,
Yan Yu,
Wei Yang,
Binyang Du,
Myung-Han Yoon,
Hanying Li
Affiliations
Xinyi Jin
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Jinqiao Xue
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Dong Hee Kang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 261 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
Yujing Liu
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Jie Ren
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Quan Wen
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Dapeng Hu
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Yan Yu
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Wei Yang
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Binyang Du
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; Corresponding authors.
Myung-Han Yoon
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 261 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
Hanying Li
MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; Corresponding authors.
Single crystals have been shown to incorporate guest materials (e.g., gel networks and functional particles) and the incorporated materials endow the crystal hosts with non-intrinsic properties. The acquisition of the non-intrinsic crystal properties impels us to diversify the incorporated guest materials and thus to spread the potential applications of single-crystalline materials. Here, fluorescent NIPAM-based microgels have been selected as the guest materials to be incorporated into the crystal hosts. In the presence of microgels, calcite crystallize from either solution or gel media have been examined. Solution-grown crystals exclude the microgels, while two gel-grown methods have proved effective for incorporating these microgels inside calcite single crystals. On one hand, an additional macroscopic agarose gel-network is introduced to trap the microgels. Crystallization in the agarose gel leads to incorporation of agarose gel-network together with the trapped microgels. The microgel concentration in the crystal reaches 33 mg/mL. On the other hand, dispersions of microgels are concentrated to about 352 mg/mL and the microgels aggregate into non-flowing macroscopic gels (termed as macrogels). Crystallization in a macrogel results in its incorporation. By showing the incorporation of microgels through physical entrapment, this work provides a new platform to functionalize single crystals by the microgels.
