Anisotropic Assembly of Colloidal Nanoparticles: Exploiting Substrate Crystallinity
We show that the crystal structure of a substrate can be exploited to drive the anisotropic assembly of colloidal nanoparticles. Pentanethiol-passivated Au particles of approximately 2 nm diameter deposited from toluene onto hydrogen-passivated Si(111) surfaces form linear assemblies (rods) with a n...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
World Scientific
2007
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/906/ |
| Summary: | We show that the crystal structure of a substrate can be exploited to drive the anisotropic assembly of colloidal nanoparticles. Pentanethiol-passivated Au particles of approximately 2 nm diameter deposited from toluene onto hydrogen-passivated Si(111) surfaces form linear assemblies (rods) with a narrow width distribution. The rod orientations mirror the substrate symmetry, with a high degree of alignment along principal crystallographic axes of the Si(111) surface. There is a strong preference for
anisotropic growth with rod widths substantially more tightly distributed than lengths. Entropic trapping of nanoparticles provides a plausible explanation for the formation of the anisotropic assemblies we observe. |
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