Colloidal synthesis of lettuce-like copper sulfide for light-gating heterogeneous nanochannels

Lettuce-like Cu_xS micron particles were successfully prepared by a colloidal hot-injection method, and the preliminary evaluation of the light-gating artificial ionic nanochannels designed using these particles was also demonstrated. A likely underlying mechanism behind the formation of the lettuce architecture was tentatively proposed via monitoring the evolution process. These particles are hydrophobic and possess a high surface area that can readily absorb the light-responsive 1,3,3-trimethylindolino-6′-nitrobenzopyrylospiran (Spiro) molecules. Finally, the heterogeneous nanochannels were constructed by spin-coating the preprepared Cu_xS particles loaded with Spiro onto the commercially available anodic alumina (AAO) substrate. The AAO-Cu_xS/Spiro heterogeneous nanochannels "close" under illumination of ultraviolet light (365 nm) and then "open" by visible light irradiation, which exhibits a regulated ionic transport property with good responsive switchability and stability.