Issue 9, 2021

Controlled deposition of nanoparticles with critical Casimir forces

Abstract

Nanocrystal assembly represents the key fabrication step to develop next-generation optoelectronic devices with properties defined from the bottom-up. Despite numerous efforts, our limited understanding of nanoscale interactions has so far delayed the establishment of assembly conditions leading to reproducible superstructure morphologies, therefore hampering integration with large-scale, industrial processes. In this work, we demonstrate the deposition of a layer of semiconductor nanocrystals on a flat and unpatterned silicon substrate as mediated by the interplay of critical Casimir attraction and electrostatic repulsion. We show experimentally and rationalize with Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations how this assembly process can be biased towards the formation of 2D layers or 3D islands and how the morphology of the deposited superstructure can be tuned from crystalline to amorphous. Our findings demonstrate the potential of the critical Casimir interaction to direct the growth of future artificial solids based on nanocrystals as the ultimate building blocks.

Graphical abstract: Controlled deposition of nanoparticles with critical Casimir forces

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
30 nov 2020
Accepted
20 mei 2021
First published
28 mei 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Horiz., 2021,6, 751-758

Controlled deposition of nanoparticles with critical Casimir forces

E. Marino, O. A. Vasilyev, B. B. Kluft, M. J. B. Stroink, S. Kondrat and P. Schall, Nanoscale Horiz., 2021, 6, 751 DOI: 10.1039/D0NH00670J

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