Chuen-Ru Li, Nina Kølln Wittig, Thorbjørn Erik Køppen Christensen, Maja Østergaard, Jan Garrevoet, Henrik Birkedal and Esther Amstad*,
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Guanine crystals are frequently encountered in nature in the β-polymorph to create structural colors, to enhance the vision of creatures, and for camouflage. Unfortunately, it is challenging to control the crystallization of guanine in aqueous conditions in the laboratory because of its low solubility in water. Here, we crystallize guanine in an aqueous environment under confinement. We employ water–oil–water double emulsions stabilized with a metal–ligand functionalized surfactant as selectively permeable containers to crystallize guanine by dynamically adjusting the pH and guanine concentration. If formed under high osmotic pressures that result in high guanine concentrations within emulsion cores, guanine crystallizes into the anhydrous β-polymorph with a spherical morphology. In contrast, if crystals form within emulsion cores containing low guanine concentrations, they attain the monohydrate form possessing a needle-like morphology. These findings demonstrate for the first time that the structure and morphology of guanine crystals formed in the laboratory under confinement in an aqueous environment can be tuned by the local guanine concentration and to some extent by the solution pH.
期刊介绍:
The journal Chemistry of Materials focuses on publishing original research at the intersection of materials science and chemistry. The studies published in the journal involve chemistry as a prominent component and explore topics such as the design, synthesis, characterization, processing, understanding, and application of functional or potentially functional materials. The journal covers various areas of interest, including inorganic and organic solid-state chemistry, nanomaterials, biomaterials, thin films and polymers, and composite/hybrid materials. The journal particularly seeks papers that highlight the creation or development of innovative materials with novel optical, electrical, magnetic, catalytic, or mechanical properties. It is essential that manuscripts on these topics have a primary focus on the chemistry of materials and represent a significant advancement compared to prior research. Before external reviews are sought, submitted manuscripts undergo a review process by a minimum of two editors to ensure their appropriateness for the journal and the presence of sufficient evidence of a significant advance that will be of broad interest to the materials chemistry community.