Light-assisted functionalization and assembly of zeolite L based hybrid materials

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Cornelia Denz; Professor Dr. Armido Studer
• Subject Area: Physical Chemistry of Solids and Surfaces, Material Characterisation ; Experimental Condensed Matter Physics ; Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas ; Organic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 375753572

• Final Report Year: 2022

Final Report Abstract

In conclusion, we were able to demonstrate the high flexibility of such functionalization approaches. Through our method zeolite L crystals were functionalized, in such a way that arbitrary 1D, 2D and 3D microarchitectures could be assembled in combination with the use of holographic optical tweezers. This can pave the way to bottom-up construction of functional, designed nanoand microtools, based on a readily accessible library of highly functionalized zeolite-L building blocks with application in the field of microfluidic and nanophotonics. Furthermore, we have shown that these modified zeolite L crystals can be applied in the synthesis and immobilization of metal nanoparticles. Through functionalization of the zeolite surface with photoactive polymer brushes, metal nanoparticles could not only be generated through irradiation of the corresponding metal salt solution but furthermore stabilized on the surface of these decorated zeolite L crystals. These metal NP-decorated zeolites proved to be robust and highly active catalysts in a variety of chemical reactions. We are currently investigating another derivative of this functionalization method in which modified silica nanoparticles are decorated with polyacylsilane moieties on the surface. Through irradiation, different drugs can be immobilized on the surface and then be selectively released upon contact with the target cell. This pH-responsive silica acylsilane nanocarrier is currently being tested in in-vitro experiments, targeting cancer cells. In addition, optical tweezers-based mixing and sorting of solute particles could be achieved by implementing complex light fields carrying orbital angular momentum, e.g., Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams. The induced circular motion of particles along the annular intensity when trapped in a single LG beam leads to mixing flows. When two LG beams with different beam diameters are used inside each other, size-dependent sorting of particles is possible. Finally, new trapping geometries were achieved by integrating a KTP crystal into the optical setup, which creates a bottle beam by conical refraction. Using this in-air bottle beam, we were able to demonstrate the interaction of an ink droplet with light in free space. Such trapping geometries can pave the way to particles freely suspended in air, which are held by bottle-beam traps.

Publications

• Biolens Behavior of RBCs Under Optically-Induced Mechanical Stress, Cytometry Part A 2017, 91, 527-533
  F. Merola, A. Barroso, L. Miccio, P. Memmolo, M. Mugnano, P. Ferraro, C. Denz
  
• Conical refraction bottle beams for entrapment of absorbing droplets, Sci. Rep. 2017, 8, 1-8
  M. Esseling, C. Alpmann, J. Schnelle, R. Meissner, C. Denz
  
• RBCs as microlenses: wavefront analysis and applications, In Optical Methods for Inspection, Characterization, and Imaging of Biomaterials III 2017, 10333, 159-166
  F. Merola, Á. Barroso, L. Miccio, P. Memmolo, M. Mugnano, P. Ferraro, C. Denz
  
• Massive ordering and alignment of cylindrical micro-objects by photovoltaic optoelectronic tweezers, Opt. Lett. 2018, 41, 30-33
  I. Elvira, J. F. Muñoz-Martínez, Á. Barroso, C. Denz, J. B. Ramiro, A. García-Cabañes, F. Agulló-López, M. Carrascosa
  
• Optomechanically-assisted assembly of surface functionalized zeolite-L based hybrid soft matter, Part. Part. Syst. Char. 2018, 35, 180041-1-6
  A. Barroso, T. Buscher, K. Ahlers, A. Studer, C. Denz
  
• Polarization nano-tomography of tightly focused light landscapes by self-assembled monolayers, Nat. Commun. 2019, 10, 1-10
  E. Otte, K. Tekce, S. Lamping, B. J. Ravoo, C. Den
  
• Optical trapping gets structure: Structured light for advanced optical manipulation, Appl. Phys. Rev. 2020, 7, 041308
  E. Otte, C. Denz
  
• Synthesis and Immobilization of Metal Nanoparticles Using Photoactive Polymer-Decorated Zeolite L Crystals and Their Application in Catalysis, Adv. Synth. Catal. 2020, 362, 2245
  M. Wissing, M. Niehues, B.J. Ravoo, A. Studer
  
• Optical grinder: sorting of trapped particles by orbital angular momentum, Opt. Exp. 2021, 29.9, 12967-12975
  V. Bobkova, J. Stegemann, R. Droop, E. Otte, C. Denz
  
• Particle-like topologies in light, Nat. Commun. 2021, 12.1, 1-10
  D. Sugic, R. Droop, E. Otte, D. Ehrmanntraut, F. Nori, J. Roustekoski, C. Denz, M. Dennis