Controlled Co-Assembly of Nanoparticles and Polymer into Ultralong and Continuous One-Dimensional Nanochains

Abstract

We report a robust one-dimensional (1D) nanoparticle-assembly strategy that uses the self-assembly of nanoparticles with ligand and thermal controls, polyethylene glycol (PEG) with thiol and carboxyl groups, and nanoparticle oligomer and polymer codewetting process to form ultralong and continuous 1D nanochains. The 1D nanochains were assembled with closely packed 1D nanoparticle oligomer building blocks, elongated and buttressed by dynamic 1D PEG templates formed on a hydrophobic surface via anisotropic spinodal dewetting. Using this strategy, nanoparticle-packed 1D nanochains (∼1 nm interparticle spacing) were fabricated with ∼60 nm-width and a few to >10 μm-length (nearly 20 μm in some cases) from 20 nm gold nanoparticles. Our findings offer insights and open revenues for particle assembly processes and, as given by 'universality in colloid aggregation', should be readily applicable to various nanoparticles.

Templated self-assembly of one-dimensional CsPbX3 perovskite nanocrystal superlattices

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Resultant properties can be further regulated by the hierarchical arrangement of individual nanoparticles, endowing self-assembled structures with collective properties distinct from both individual NPs and bulk samples. [6][7][8] Self-assembled NP arrays including one, two, and three-dimensional superlattices, have attracted considerable attention in various research fields, [9][10][11][12] and created a wide range of applications for self-assembled nanostructures in functional nano-devices, including thermoelectrics, photovoltaics, catalysts, and sensors. [13][14][15][16] Generally, the ascribed mechanism of solution phase selfassembly of NPs relies on the strong interactions between longchain ligands on NP surfaces, 10,[16][17][18][19][20][21] or directional interactions between functional groups (polymers, DNA, inert nucleation materials), 9,14,19,22 yielding equilibrium structures with a balance between inter-ligand and inter-particle interactions.…”

“…The thermodynamic stability of the along-side assembly product may arise from entropy gains from uncurving the nanoribbon hosts as well as extra stabilization from NCs-PbSO4 cluster through hydrophobic ligands interactions. The irreversible switching between different self-assembled hierarchical structures verifies that the self-assembly process can be delicate, often driven by weak interactions, 9,19,34 Different assemblies of PbSO4-perovskite NCs can be realized by manipulating either the solvents or the mechanical input, which favors different kinetically trapped products. The kinetic assembly product, the pea-pod like nanostructures, involved curving of the ribbon-like template into half cyclindrical shells around a 1D chain of CsPbBr3 NCs.…”

Plasmonic Nanogaps: From Fabrications to Optical Applications

“…The self‐assembly of metal nanoparticles presents one of the simplest methods of producing highly dense intermetallic nanogaps . It is a promising approach to achieve sub‐5 nm gaps between close‐packed particles, in which molecular ligands coating the particles act as precise dielectric spacers .…”

“…The geometry of nanopeapod structure can also be controlled by the size of AuNPs and inner diameter of SNTs. The linear chain of gold nanoparticle is easy to theoretical analysis, and very useful in practical applications …”

Complex 3D nanocoral like structures formed by copper nanoparticle aggregation on nanostructured zinc oxide rods

“…One of the major challenges facing nanoscience is the assembly of nanoparticles into a specific architecture. Namely the ability to control, align and fix freely moving nanoparticles to a particular location and shape [1]. Controlling individual nanoparticles so they combine to form anisotropic constructs [2,3] has been proposed as a method to produce a range of nano-enabled materials.…”