Self-Assembled Carbon Nanoparticles as Messengers for Artificial Chemical Communication

Supramolecular carbon nanoparticle aggregates were obtained via triazine covalent functionalization of the nanoparticle shell and subsequent hydrogen boding reticulation upon addition of naphthalene diimide. The resulting reticulated nanoparticles maintained the optical properties required for artificial chemical communication but exhibited reduced diffusion coefficient enabling sharper and more intense molecular bits capabilities when employed as chemical messengers. As a result, they are ideal candidates for the transport of information along extended fluid paths. We believe that our results represent a further step toward the understanding and optimization of all the experimental parameters affecting information transfer efficiency in artificial chemical communication.