Folding of Nanoparticle Chains into 2D Arrays: Structural Change of DNA‐Functionalized Gold Nanoparticle Assemblies.

Abstract: Nanoparticle (NP) arrays exhibit collective physical and chemical properties, which are potentially applicable to various nanodevices, such as data storage media and biosensors. In this Communication, a spontaneous method of constructing the 2D NP arrays from precursory 1D chains of DNA‐modified NPs is described. The single‐stranded (ss) DNA‐modified gold NPs are hybridized to a long repetitive ssDNA synthesized with rolling circle amplification to produce the precursory NP chains. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the chains of fully matched double‐stranded (ds) DNA‐modified NPs undergo shrinkage and folding during evaporation to afford the 2D NP arrays. In particular, the chains of long dsDNA‐modified NPs with short interparticle spacing form the NP arrays with anisotropic interparticle spacing. The present approach could be useful for readily aligning NPs on the substrate surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]