Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies
Coarsening is a ubiquitous phenomenon [1-3] that underpins countless processes in nature, including epitaxial growth [1,3,4], the phase separation of alloys, polymers and binary fluids [2], the growth of bubbles in foams5, and pattern formation in biomembranes6. Here we show, in the first real-time...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Nature Publishing Group
2007
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/908/ |
| _version_ | 1848790500554833920 |
|---|---|
| author | Blunt, MO Martin, CP Ahola-Tuomi, M Pauliac-Vaujour, E Sharp, Peter Nativo, P Brust, M Nativo, P |
| author_facet | Blunt, MO Martin, CP Ahola-Tuomi, M Pauliac-Vaujour, E Sharp, Peter Nativo, P Brust, M Nativo, P |
| author_sort | Blunt, MO |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Coarsening is a ubiquitous phenomenon [1-3] that underpins countless processes in nature, including epitaxial growth [1,3,4], the phase separation of alloys, polymers and binary fluids [2], the growth of bubbles in foams5, and pattern formation in biomembranes6. Here we show, in the first real-time experimental study of the evolution of an adsorbed colloidal nanoparticle array, that tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) can drive the coarsening of Au nanoparticle assemblies on silicon surfaces. Although the growth exponent has a strong dependence on the initial sample morphology, our observations are largely consistent with modified Ostwald ripening processes [7-9]. To date, ripening processes have been exclusively considered to be thermally activated, but we show that nanoparticle assemblies can be mechanically coerced towards equilibrium, representing a new approach to directed coarsening. This strategy enables precise control over the evolution of micro- and nanostructures. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:13:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-908 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:13:36Z |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-9082020-05-04T20:28:29Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/908/ Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies Blunt, MO Martin, CP Ahola-Tuomi, M Pauliac-Vaujour, E Sharp, Peter Nativo, P Brust, M Nativo, P Coarsening is a ubiquitous phenomenon [1-3] that underpins countless processes in nature, including epitaxial growth [1,3,4], the phase separation of alloys, polymers and binary fluids [2], the growth of bubbles in foams5, and pattern formation in biomembranes6. Here we show, in the first real-time experimental study of the evolution of an adsorbed colloidal nanoparticle array, that tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) can drive the coarsening of Au nanoparticle assemblies on silicon surfaces. Although the growth exponent has a strong dependence on the initial sample morphology, our observations are largely consistent with modified Ostwald ripening processes [7-9]. To date, ripening processes have been exclusively considered to be thermally activated, but we show that nanoparticle assemblies can be mechanically coerced towards equilibrium, representing a new approach to directed coarsening. This strategy enables precise control over the evolution of micro- and nanostructures. Nature Publishing Group 2007-03 Article PeerReviewed Blunt, MO, Martin, CP, Ahola-Tuomi, M, Pauliac-Vaujour, E, Sharp, Peter, Nativo, P, Brust, M and Nativo, P (2007) Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies. Nature Nanotechnology, 2 . pp. 167-170. nanoparticles; self-assembly; self-organisation; coarsening; ripening; growth; http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v2/n3/abs/nnano.2007.25.html 10.1038/nnano.2007.25 10.1038/nnano.2007.25 10.1038/nnano.2007.25 |
| spellingShingle | nanoparticles; self-assembly; self-organisation; coarsening; ripening; growth; Blunt, MO Martin, CP Ahola-Tuomi, M Pauliac-Vaujour, E Sharp, Peter Nativo, P Brust, M Nativo, P Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies |
| title | Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies |
| title_full | Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies |
| title_fullStr | Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies |
| title_short | Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies |
| title_sort | coerced mechanical coarsening of nanoparticle assemblies |
| topic | nanoparticles; self-assembly; self-organisation; coarsening; ripening; growth; |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/908/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/908/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/908/ |