Nanolithography of Metal Catalysts by Dip-Pen Nanolithography~TM

摘要

Nano-patterning of metals on gold film and silicon nitride membrane using Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN~TM) is reported in this study. Using this technique, nano-particles can be delivered or nano-scale features of metals can be deposited precisely at specific locations using the unique registration capabilities of DPN. Monolayers of metal salts (FeCl_2, FeCl_3, PdCl_2, etc.) are deposited with nano-scale precision using DPN. These metal salts can be subsequently reduced to pure metals in a reducing environment for various applications (e.g., magnetic memory storage, nano-catalysis, molecular electronics, brand protection, nano-sensors, etc.). Square nano-patterns of Palladium and Iron salts were successfully deposited using this technique with thickness of the deposited materials being less than 1 nm.