Fig. 4: Self-assembly of mesogen-functionalized gold nanoparticles into left- and right-handed chiral nanomaterials with thermotropic liquid-crystalline template.

a Molecular structure of a mesogenic dimer (L–L). b Schematic structure of the mesogen-functionalized gold nanoparticle. c Schematic self-assembly process of chiral plasmonic nanomaterials. d TEM image of chiral nanomaterials. e, f AFM images of left- and right-handed chiral nanomaterials. Reproduced with permission from ref. 188. Copyright 2020, WILEY-VCH