Publication Date:
2016-06-11
Description:
Large crystalline molecular shells buckle spontaneously into icosahedra while multicomponent shells buckle into various polyhedra. Continuum elastic theory explains the buckling of closed shells with one elastic component into icosahedra. A generalized elastic model, on the other hand, describes the spontaneous buckling of inhomogeneous shells into regular and irregular polyhedra. By co-assembling water-insoluble anionic (−1) amphiphiles with cationic (3+) amphiphiles, we realized ionic vesicles. Results revealed that surface crystalline domains and the unusual shell shapes observed arise from the competition of ionic correlations with charge-regulation. We explain here the mechanism by which these ionic membranes generate a mechanically heterogeneous vesicle.
Electronic ISSN:
2166-532X
Topics:
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
