Exotic Hybrid Nanostructures Resulting from the Mixture of Inorganic Particles and Membrane Phases
Two dimensional（2D）atomic crystals or nanosheets resulting from the exfoliation of individual atomic planes peeled from inorganic layered materials constitute nano materials with fascinating properties and diverse potential applications for constructing novel nanomaterials1, 2）. At the crosspoint of both hybrid materials and physical chemistry science, a recent study on the mixing of these materials with membrane phases made by nonionic surfactants stressed out the importance of the 2D geometry of nanosheets as a template system to orientate and stabilize in a lamellar organization the surfactant spherical micelles3）.
While representing a certain challenge in regards to the possible aggregation／segregation of the colloidal phases, and beyond the interests in soft condensed matter eld, the association of nanosheets or further inorganic particles with yeasts, liposomes and other membranes phases made by mixtures of surfactant that may mimic cell envelope represent new interesting ways to obtain exiting exotic materials showing potential applications such as biosensors or chemical sensors for instance.
Fig. 1 Sandwich organization induced by large nanosheets of a nonionic surfactant
1） F. Geng et al., Nat. Commun. 2013, 4, 1632.
2） B. P. Bastakoti et al., Angew. Chem. Int., Ed. 2015, 127, 4296.
3） R. Guégan et al., Chem. Commun. 2016, 52, 1594.
Régis Guégan Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University