When it comes to water, some materials have a split personality - and some of these materials could hold the key to new ways of harnessing solar energy. These small assemblies of organic molecules¹ have parts that are hydrophobic, or water-fearing, while other parts are hydrophilic, or water-loving. Because of their schizoid nature, micelles organize themselves into spheres that have their hydrophilic parts turned out while their hydrophobic parts are shielded inside.

 

A new study from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Argonne National Laboratory has shown water can serve another previously² undiscovered role as these micelles coalesce³ to spontaneously form long fibers⁵.

 

In a study led by Argonne nanoscientist Subramanian Sankaranarayanan and chemist Christopher Fry, both of Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials, supercomputer simulations and as well as lab-based experiments showed that water serves as an invisible cage for the growth of the micelle fiber⁴.

 

The study could help scientists to understand how light-harvesting molecules are incorporated into the micelle fiber as it assembles, which would be a key step to understanding some forms of artificial photosynthesis⁶.

 

"Until now, trying to understand where the light-harvesting molecules bind⁷ has been like trying to see how a square peg⁸ can fit in a round hole," said Sankaranarayanan. "By seeing the way in which the micelle fiber self-assembles, we can get a better understanding of how these kinds of light-harvesting systems are formed."

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