Free-Standing, Patternable Nanoparticle/Polymer Monolayer Arrays Formed by Evaporation Induced Self-Assembly at a Fluid Interface

摘要

Ordered nanoparticle (NP) monolayers are of fundamental interest as 2D artificial solids in which electronic, magnetic, and optical properties can be tuned through electron charging and quantum confinement of individual NPs mediated by coupling interactions with neighboring NPs. They are also of technological interest for a diverse range of applications including photovoltaics, sensors, catalysis, and magnetic storage. To date a myriad of techniques including Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) deposition, droplet evaporation, and interfacial assembly have been used to organize monosized, hydrophobic NPs into ordered 2D arrays. It is generally agreed that for all these approaches NP assembly is driven by attractive van der Waals interactions balanced by steric repulsion.