2026-04-27 アルゴンヌ国立研究所（ANL）
＜関連情報＞
- https://cockrell.utexas.edu/news/the-secret-ingredient-is-salt/
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec4820
塩加速老化過程におけるコロイド状ナノ結晶ゲルの構造とダイナミクスの普遍的な変化 Universal progression of structure and dynamics in colloidal nanocrystal gels during salt-accelerated aging
Charles K. Ofosu, William D. Brackett, Diana L. Conrad, Dingwen Qian, […] , and Delia J. Milliron
Science Advances Published:13 Mar 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aec4820
Abstract
Controlling the structure and function of colloidal gels requires a detailed understanding of how the various components govern network formation and aging. In particular, molecular additives like salts are widely used to tune interparticle interactions, yet their influence on gelation pathways in complex systems such as colloidal nanocrystal gels remains inadequately understood. Here, we investigate how noncoordinating salts modulate the evolution of gels formed using chemically linked tin-doped indium oxide nanocrystals. Through combined structural, dynamic, and kinetic analyses, we demonstrate that increasing salt concentration accelerates gelation. When rescaled by salt-dependent characteristic times, the evolution collapses onto universal trajectories, revealing a time-salt superposition principle. The universality extends across length scales, suggesting a consistent salt-dependent mechanism that controls both local structuring and macroscopic network formation. This observed salt modulation of structure and dynamics provides a predictive basis for controlling the kinetics of nonequilibrium nanocrystal gel assembly, enhancing the rational design of functional nanomaterials with tunable properties.
