Understanding the Colloidal Stability of Nanoparticle–Ligand Complexes: Design, Synthesis, and Structure–Function Relationship Studies of Amphiphilic Small-Molecule Ligands

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/chem.201704306

For effective application of nanoparticles, their amenability to in-solution processing must be addressed, and stable, homogeneous solvent conditions are required. Although organic ligands have been used as surface-modifying reagents for nanoparticles to increase their colloidal stability and homogeneity in solution, the structure–function relationships of nanoparticle–ligand complexes remain elusive and controversial. Herein, a series of novel amphiphilic small-molecule ligands were designed, synthesized, and applied as surface-modifying reagents for aqueous, transparent TiO₂ and ZrO₂ nanoparticles. The colloidal stability of the resulting nanoparticle–ligand complexes was found to depend not only on the chain length, but also on the relative balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity. The structure of the ligands can be fine-tuned to achieve “flexible colloidal stability”, thus significantly increasing complex stability in a variety of organic solvents.

Full text of DOI:10.1002/chem.201704306

A Journal of
Accepted Article
Title: Understanding the Colloidal Stability of Nanoparticle-Ligand
Complexes: Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Function
Relationship Studies of Amphiphilic Small-Molecule Ligands
Authors: Yohei Okada, Kodai Ishikawa, Naoya Maeta, and Hidehiro
Kamiya
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To be cited as: Chem. Eur. J. 10.1002/chem.201704306
Link to VoR: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201704306
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Understanding the Colloidal Stability of Nanoparticle-Ligand
Complexes: Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Function
Relationship Studies of Amphiphilic Small-Molecule Ligands
Yohei Okada,*[a] Kodai Ishikawa,[a] Naoya, Maeta,[a] Hidehiro Kamiya[a]
Abstract: For effective application of nanoparticles, their amenability
to in-solution processing must be addressed, and stable,
homogeneous solvent conditions are required. Although organic
ligands have been used as surface-modifying reagents for
nanoparticles to increase their colloidal stability and homogeneity in
solution, the structure-function relationships of nanoparticle-ligand
complexes remain elusive and controversial. Herein, a series of
careful attention must be paid to the choice of ligand, with
consideration given to the nanoparticles, solvents, and additives,
even if present in small amounts, as slight differences can
significantly affect in-solution properties. Although polymeric
and/or oligomeric ligands are generally better than small
molecules, their modes of action can be complex.
We have been investigating the use of oligomeric, amphiphilic
novel amphiphilic small-molecule ligands was designed, synthesized, ligands composed of a hydrophobic alkyl chain and a hydrophilic
and applied as surface-modifying reagents for aqueous, transparent
TiO2 and ZrO2 nanoparticles. The colloidal stability of the resulting
nanoparticle-ligand complexes was found to depend not only on the
chain length but also on the relative balance between hydrophobicity
and hydrophilicity. The structure of the ligands can be fine-tuned to
achieve “flexible colloidal stability,” significantly increasing complex
stability in a variety of organic solvents.
ethylene glycol chain, with a terminal phosphoric acid as an
anchoring group (Figure S1).6 When the ligand was mixed with
aqueous nanoparticles, the resulting nanoparticle-ligand
complexes aggregated and could be collected via centrifugation.
The recovered complexes exhibited flexible colloidal stability in a
variety of organic solvents. Folding of either the alkyl or ethylene
glycol chain in respective polar or less-polar solvents could
explain the variations in affinity. However, the ligand we have
focused on is an oligomeric mixture characterized by high
structural variation, including a variety of both alkyl and ethylene
glycol chain lengths in combination with phosphoric acid and
phosphoric mono- and di-esters (Figure S2). Described herein is
the design and synthesis of well-defined novel amphiphilic small-
molecule ligands and the results of structure-function
relationship studies.
Introduction
Over the past decade, nanotechnology has grown remarkably,
such that it now accounts for a substantial fraction of current
research in both academic and industrial fields. Nanoparticles
rank among one of the most important platforms in the repertoire
of technologically useful materials due to their unique electrical,
magnetic, and optical physicochemical characteristics, which
would be difficult to replicate in other materials because of the
extremely high specific surface area.1 Extensive efforts to
produce nanoparticles of well-defined size and morphology have
led to the development of important classes of functional
materials and devices.2 For such applications to be successful,
the amenability of nanoparticles to in-solution processing must
be addressed, and stable, homogeneous solvent conditions are
required. Although various organic ligands have been devised
and used as surface-modifying reagents to increase the stability
and homogeneity of nanoparticles in solution,3 the structure-
function relationships of such nanoparticle-ligand complexes
remain elusive and are often controversial.4 Traditional colloidal
models are often inadequate for predicting the properties of
nanoparticles in solution, which have only recently been
described both experimentally and theoretically.5 Furthermore,
Results and Discussion
The present work began with the design of amphiphilic small-
molecule ligands via a reliable synthesis route (Scheme 1). In
order to avoid generating diastereomers, n-alkyl chains were
selected as hydrophobic moieties. As for hydrophilic moieties,
although there are several functional group options, for example
alcohols, carboxylic acids, and amines, they can also function as
potential anchoring groups, thus promoting the formation of
undesired complexes. On the other hand, ethylene glycol chains
are promising, as they are non-reactive and pH neutral. Due to
synthesis concerns, phosphonic acid was chosen as the
anchoring group instead of phosphoric acid, which is widely
used as an anchoring group for various oxide surfaces.7 Based
on this design and retrosynthetic approach, the novel
amphiphilic small-molecule ligands were synthesized from the
corresponding dibromoalkane and oligoethylene glycol
monomethyl ether in 3 steps, which included Williamson,
Michaelis-Arbuzov, and hydrolysis reactions (Scheme 2; see
Supporting Information for synthesis details).
[a]
Dr. Y. Okada, Mr. K. Ishikawa, Mr. N. Maeta, Prof. Dr. H. Kamiya
Department of Chemical Engineering
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
E-mail: yokada@cc.tuat.ac.jp
Supporting information for this article is given via a link at the end of
the document.
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Scheme 1. Design and Retrosynthetic Approach for Synthesizing Novel
Amphiphilic Small-Molecule Ligands.
Figure 2. Representative 1H-NMR Spectrum of the Novel Amphiphilic Small-
Molecule Ligands.
Scheme 2. Representative Route for the Synthesis of Novel Amphiphilic
Small-Molecule Ligands.
Considering that self-assembled organic monolayers have been
widely studied using octyl and longer ligands,8 octyl-triethylene
glycol phosphonic acid (1, C8:EG3) was initially synthesized
(Figures 1 and 2). When ligand (1) was mixed with aqueous
transparent TiO2 nanoparticles (Figures 3 and S3, 4 nm by DLS),
the resulting nanoparticle-ligand (1) complexes aggregated, with
the solution assuming a white, cloudy appearance (Figure 4).
This could be explained by masking of the surface hydrophilic
hydroxyl groups by the phosphonic acid molecules anchored
onto the surface of the TiO2 nanoparticles through covalent
bonds,9 which decreased the affinity of the TiO2 nanoparticles
for the aqueous solution (Figure 4, <1 equiv.).
Figure 3. Photograph and TEM Images of the Aqueous Transparent TiO2
Nanoparticles (4 nm by DLS).
Figure 4. Schematic Illustration and Photographs of the Ligand (1) Anchoring
Behavior.
The complexes were collected via centrifugation (Figure S4) and
characterized by 1H-NMR (Figure S5), FT-IR (Figure S6), and
elemental analysis. Both NMR and IR spectra showed peaks
corresponding to the expected structure, and elemental
analyses indicated that the amount of ligand (1) loaded was
approximately 4.3 mol/m2. It should be noted that no
Figure 1. Structures of the Novel Amphiphilic Small-Molecule Ligands
Examined in this Work.
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aggregation occurred, and the solution remained transparent
when excess ligand (1) was added (Figure 4, >1 equiv.).
Formation of a stable bilayer under the condition of excess
ligand (1) could possibly have led to the exposure of hydrophilic
phosphonic acid molecules, thus increasing the affinity of the
complexes for the aqueous solution.
The colloidal stability of the recovered complexes was then
investigated by DLS and TEM in methanol as a typical polar
solvent and toluene as a typical less-polar solvent, at a
concentration of 3.0wt% in each solvent (Figures 5 and S7).
While the solution remained transparent for complexes in
methanol (Figure S8, 10 nm by DLS), in toluene, the complexes
Figure 6. Photographs of Solutions of the Nanoparticle-Ligand (3) Complexes
at 3.0wt% in Methanol (Left) and Toluene (Right).
The design was then altered based on the concept of extending
the hydrophobic alkyl chain. Thus, decyl-triethylene glycol
phosphonic acid (4, C10:EG3) and dodecyl-triethylene glycol
phosphonic acid (5, C12:EG3) were synthesized and utilized as
surface-modifying reagents for aqueous transparent TiO2
(Figures S15–S19). The formation of stable monolayers was
confirmed based on estimated amounts of ligands (4, 5) loaded
(5.0 mol/m2 and 4.6 mol/m2, respectively). To our delight, both
ligands (4, 5) yielded complexes exhibiting flexible colloidal
stability (Figures 7 and S20), meaning that they were stable in
both methanol (Figures S21 and S22; 10 and 9 nm by DLS,
respectively) and toluene (Figures S21 and S22; 12 and 14 nm
by DLS, respectively). The colloidal stability of the nanoparticle-
ligand (5) complexes was further studied by SAXS in methanol
(Figures S23) and toluene (Figure S24) at a 3.0wt% in each
solvent. The results were better than expected; the nanoparticle-
ligand (5) complexes were estimated to be 4 nm in both solvents,
which agreed well with the primary particle sizes. Taken together,
these data indicate that the nanoparticle-ligand (5) complexes
are flexibly stable in both polar methanol and less-polar toluene.
aggregated and the solution assumed
a white, cloudy
appearance (Figure S8, 53 nm by DLS). Although TEM images
were taken under vacuum conditions after evaporating the
solvents, they likely reflected the colloidal conditions. Namely,
primary particle size was similarly maintained in both solvents;
however, larger aggregates were observed in toluene, which
was in accordance with the white, cloudy appearance.
Figure 5. Photographs and TEM Images of Solutions of the Nanoparticle-
Ligand (1) Complexes at 3.0wt% in Methanol (Left) and Toluene (Right).
Based on these observations, it would be reasonable to
conclude that a more hydrophobic ligand would yield complexes
with flexible colloidal stability. Therefore, octyl-diethylene glycol
phosphonic acid (2, C8:EG2) and octyl-monoethylene glycol
phosphonic acid (3, C8:EG1) were synthesized based on the
concept of a shortened hydrophilic ethylene glycol chain and
were utilized as surface-modifying reagents for aqueous
transparent TiO2 (Figures S9–S12). The amount of each ligand
(2, 3) loaded was estimated at 4.6 mol/m2 based on elemental
analysis, suggesting that stable monolayers were formed.
Although the hydrophobicity was indeed increased for both
ligands (2, 3), the colloidal stability of the complexes was not as
expected (Figure 6). The nanoparticle-ligand (3) complexes
were barely stable in toluene (DLS unmeasurable), whereas the
colloidal stability of the nanoparticle-ligand (2) complexes in
toluene was even lower. However, both complexes were stable
in methanol (Figures S13 and S14; 10 and 5 nm by DLS,
respectively). This result clearly indicates that the colloidal
stability of the complexes is not directly determined by the
hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity of the ligand.
Figure 7. Photographs and TEM Images of Solutions of the Nanoparticle-
Ligand (5) Complexes at 3.0wt% in Methanol (Left) and Toluene (Right).
The question then arose as to whether the observed flexible
colloidal stability of the complexes was simply the result of steric
repulsion due to the chain lengths and/or the result of the
relative balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity. To
obtain further insights into the structure-function relationship,
octyl-tetraethylene glycol phosphonic acid (6, C8:EG4) was then
designed and synthesized. As compared with ligands (4, 5),
ligand (6) had a similar chain length but different hydrophobicity
and hydrophilicity. In this case, the addition of ligand (6) did not
induce any aggregation of the complexes in aqueous solution,
and no complexes were recovered by centrifugation (Table 1
and Figures 8 and S25; 12 nm by DLS). Although the possibility
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that ligand (6) was not anchored to the surface of the TiO2
nanoparticles could not be entirely ruled out, it is much more
likely that even a slight difference in the relative balance
between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity has a substantial
impact on the colloidal stability of the complexes. The critical
micelle concentration (CMC) of ligands (1–6) was also
measured to assess the relative balance between
hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity (Figures S26–S31). The CMC
of ligands (2–5) was estimated to be significantly lower than that
of ligand (1), suggesting that ligands (2–5) are more
hydrophobic than ligand (1). In particular, the CMC values of
ligands (2–4) were very similar, whereas the functions were
greatly different. These results clearly indicate that not only the
relative balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity but
also steric repulsion due to chain length is indeed important for
the ligands. By contrast, the CMC of ligand (6) seemed to be
very high compared with ligands (4, 5), suggesting that the
relative balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity must
also be considered in ligand design.
satisfaction, the complexes gave transparent solutions in a wide
range of organic solvents (Figures S32–S37; 9–13 nm by DLS
and 3–4 nm by SAXS) in addition to methanol and toluene. In
acetonitrile, the complexes aggregated and the solution
assumed a white, cloudy appearance (17 nm by DLS), whereas
in hexane, the complexes were barely stable (DLS
unmeasurable). Although these results might simply suggest
that the solvents were too hydrophobic or hydrophilic, it is still
possible that the modes of action of the ligands are more
complex than we assume.
Figure 9. Photographs of Solutions of Nanoparticle-Ligand (5) Complexes at
3.0wt% in Various Organic Solvents.
Table 1. Summary of DLS Data for Nanoparticle-Ligand (1–6) Complexes.
To further demonstrate the generality of the novel amphiphilic
small-molecule ligand, nanoparticle-ligand complexes were
finally prepared using larger-size aqueous transparent TiO2
nanoparticles (Figure S38; 15 nm by DLS) and ZrO2
nanoparticles (Figure S39; 4 nm by DLS) with ligand (5) (Figures
10 and S40–S42). The amount of ligand (5) loaded onto each
nanoparticle type was estimated at approximately 9.7 and 8.0
mol/m2, respectively. Gratifyingly, both nanoparticle-ligand (5)
complexes exhibited good flexible colloidal stability and
assumed a transparent appearance in methanol (Figures 11, 12,
and S43–S46; 10 nm by DLS for each ligand) and toluene
(Figures 11, 12, and S43–S46; 13 nm by DLS for each ligand).
Figure 8. Schematic Illustration and Photographs of Ligand (6) Anchoring
Behavior.
The scope and limitations of the flexible colloidal stability were
then investigated using various organic solvents and
nanoparticle-ligand (5) complexes as a model (Figure 9). To our
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by chain length and the relative balance between hydrophobicity
and hydrophilicity have a substantial impact on the solubility of
the complexes. We believe that the results described herein will
prove advantageous, facilitating the design of new ligands and
expanding the applications for nanoparticles.
Experimental Section
General Procedure for Williamson Reactions: To a solution of the
respective oligoethylene glycol monomethyl ether (15.0 mmol) in THF (40
mL) stirring at r.t., NaH (60% dispersion in paraffin liquid, 900 mg, 22.5
mmol) was added. The resulting reaction mixture was stirred at r.t. for 10
min, and the respective dibromoalkane (22.5 mmol) was then added. The
resulting reaction mixture was stirred at r.t. overnight, diluted with MeOH
(40 mL), and concentrated in vacuo. Silica gel column chromatography
(hexane/EtOAc = 4/1-1/1) gave the corresponding products S1–S6 in 22–
54% yield as a pale-yellow oil.
Figure 10. Photographs and TEM Images of Aqueous Transparent TiO2
(Above) and ZrO2 (Below) Nanoparticles (15 nm and
respectively).
4 nm by DLS,
General Procedure for Michaelis-Arbuzov Reactions: The respective
substrates S1–S6 (5.0 mmol) were added to triethyl phosphite (1.73 mL,
10.0 mmol). The resulting reaction mixture was stirred at 140°C for 24 h
and concentrated in vacuo. Silica gel column chromatography
(EtOAc/MeOH = 20/1) gave the corresponding products S7–S12 in 74–
97% yield as a colorless oil.
General Procedure for Hydrolysis Reactions: To a solution of the
respective substrates S7–S12 (3.0 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (30 mL) stirring at r.t.,
TMSBr (30.0 mmol) was added. The resulting reaction mixture was
stirred at r.t. for 24 h, diluted with water (60 mL), and the organic layer
was separated. The aqueous layer was saturated with NaCl and
extracted with CH2Cl2 (30 mL × 3). The combined organic layer was dried
over Na2SO4, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo. Silica gel column
Figure 11. Photographs and TEM Images of Solutions of TiO2 Nanoparticle-
Ligand (5) complexes at 3.0wt% in Methanol (Left) and Toluene (Right).
chromatography (EtOAc/MeOH
=
1/1) gave the corresponding
amphiphilic small molecule ligands 1–6 in 42–65% yield as a white solid.
Preparation of TiO2 Nanoparticle-Ligand Complexes: To a solution of
the respective ligands 1–6 (85.9–132 mg, 0.32 mmol, 5.4 mol/m2) in
water (9.0 g) stirring at r.t., aqueous TiO2 nanoparticles (20wt%, 1.0 g,
295 m2/g) were added. The resulting reaction mixture was stirred at r.t.
for 3 h and centrifuged at 30,000 g for 5 min. The recovered precipitate
was washed with water and concentrated in vacuo to give the
corresponding nanoparticle-ligand complexes as a white powder.
Figure 12. Photographs and TEM Images of Solutions of ZrO2 Nanoparticle-
Ligand (5) complexes at 3.0wt% in Methanol (Left) and Toluene (Right).
Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant
Number 16H06193, 17K19221 (to Y. O.), and 16H02413 (to H.
K.).
Conclusions
In conclusion, we designed a series of novel amphiphilic small-
molecule ligands and established a reliable and effective route
for their synthesis. The synthesized ligands were utilized as
surface-modifying reagents for aqueous transparent TiO2 and
ZrO2 nanoparticles. The colloidal stability of the resulting
nanoparticle-ligand complexes was investigated by DLS, TEM,
and SAXS measurements in methanol as a typical polar solvent
and toluene as a typical less-polar solvent. We demonstrated
that flexible colloidal stability can be achieved for the complexes
by fine-tuning the ligand structure. Both steric repulsion caused
Keywords: nanoparticle-ligand complex • structure-solubility
relationship
• amphiphilic small-molecule ligand • flexible
solubility • phosphonic acid
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Yohei Okada*, Kodai Ishikawa, Naoya
Maeta, Hidehiro Kamiya
Page No. – Page No.
Understanding the Colloidal Stability
of Nanoparticle-Ligand Complexes:
Design, Synthesis, and Structure-
Function Relationship Studies of
Amphiphilic Small-Molecule Ligands
A series of novel amphiphilic small-molecule ligands was designed, synthesized,
and applied as surface-modifying reagents for aqueous, transparent TiO2 and ZrO2
nanoparticles. The structures of the ligands can be fine-tuned to achieve “flexible
colloidal stability,” significantly increasing complex stability in a variety of organic
solvents.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.