Thermoresponsive Colloidal Molecules

TL;DR

This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of thermoresponsive colloidal molecules with a dumbbell shape, demonstrating temperature-dependent size and aspect ratio changes confirmed by microscopy and light scattering.

Contribution

The study introduces a method to create thermoresponsive colloidal molecules with controlled morphology and detailed analysis of their temperature-dependent properties.

Findings

Dumbbell-shaped colloidal molecules of approximately 250 nm were successfully fabricated.

Size and aspect ratio vary with temperature, changing from about 1.4 to 1.6.

Microscopy and light scattering results are in good agreement, confirming the thermoresponsive behavior.

Abstract

We fabricated thermoresponsive colloidal molecules of ca. 250 nm size. Electron- and scanning force microscopy reveal the dumbbell-shaped morphology. The temperature dependence of the size and aspect ratio (ca. 1.4 to 1.6) is analyzed by depolarized dynamic light scattering and found to be in good agreement with microscopic evidence.