Cover Feature: The Effect of Mesogenic Coronas on the Type and Anisotropy of Gold Nanoparticle Superlattices: When Can the Tail Wag the Dog? (Chem. Eur. J. 11/2023)

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles are giants compared to the ligands grafted to their surfaces. The particles weigh several hundred kDa, an organic ligand just 1 kDa. Yet by designing the shape of these small ligands, particularly the length and number of their alkyl tails, they can direct the gold nanoparticles to assemble in a large variety of superlattices. In the Research Article by G. H. Mehl, F. Liu, G. Ungar, and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202203673), it is shown by several examples and by detailed geometric analysis how the “tail can wag the dog”.