Directional freezing of liquid crystalline systems: from silver nanowire/PVA aqueous dispersions to highly ordered and electrically conductive macroporous scaffolds

H. E. ROMEO; C.E. HOPPE; M. ARTURO LÓPEZ-QUINTELA; R.J.J. WILLIAMS; Y. MINABERRY; M. JOBBÁGY

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

Lugar: CAMBRIDGE; Año: 2012 vol. 22 p. 9195 - 9201

0959-9428

Highly ordered hybrid metallic?polymeric assemblies were prepared by simultaneously combining two organization-directing tools: the liquid crystalline behavior of high aspect ratio silver nanowires (Ag-NWs) dispersed in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) aqueous solutions and a cryogenic technique based on the directional freezing of the liquid crystal-like systems. This combination allowed us to render highly oriented Ag-NWs inside macroporous PVA scaffolds. As a consequence of the compact selfassembly of NWs into the structured composites, electrically conductive metallic?polymeric hybrid materials were obtained.