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Second order directed positioning of nanoparticles induced by the main terminal meniscus shape in irregular template cavities
- Source :
- Nanoscale. 9:9886-9892
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 2017.
-
Abstract
- Directed self-assembly of nanoparticles using topographical templates has demonstrated great capabilities of ordering particles at their maximum packing fraction resulting from template confinement effects and free energy minimization. However, to self-assemble nanostructures at a lower packing fraction with a precise control over particle's positioning is challenging due to the high entropy of such a system. Here, by fabricating templates of irregular cavities together with appropriate choice of solvent, we demonstrate the positioning of 8 nm Au nanoparticles within individual cavities at a low filling factor. In addition to the first-order of ordering dictated by the template topography, there is a second-order of ordering induced by the interplay between the evaporation of the residual solvent trapped within the cavities and their intrinsic geometries. The experimental results show that the cavities shaped as equilateral triangles exhibit a random positioning of the particles at the corners; in comparison, right-angled scalene (or irregular) triangles show a more controllable positioning of the particles within the corners of the smallest angle. Finally, this technique has been successfully used to fabricate arrays of dimers with a controllable center-to-center distances at sub-5 nm length scales.
- Subjects :
- Materials science
Nanostructure
Filling factor
Nanoparticle
Nanotechnology
02 engineering and technology
010402 general chemistry
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
Equilateral triangle
Atomic packing factor
Energy minimization
01 natural sciences
Molecular physics
0104 chemical sciences
Template
Particle
General Materials Science
0210 nano-technology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20403372 and 20403364
- Volume :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Nanoscale
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....eb11e9b0c97b079c968d05bf242b531d