Issue 8, 2023

Unraveling the impact of template geometry and confinement on template-assisted self-assembly of nanoparticles

Abstract

Directed self-assembly (DSA) of nanoparticles onto templated substrates facilitates the design of plasmonic, photovoltaic, and semiconducting devices. It is commonly thought that the wedge-mechanism of DSA of micrometer sized particles onto templated surfaces would apply to DSA of sub-10 nm particles. Using many-body dissipative particle dynamics simulations, we present a model to understand the mechanisms of DSA of sub-10 nm particles onto an array of nanocavities as a template. The simulation results suggest that the random hopping mechanism ahead of the receding meniscus plays the major role in DSA of sub-10 nm particles. The simulation results provide a phase diagram of DSA yield as a function of liquid film thickness (confinement) and nanoparticle density. Furthermore, we find that the DSA yield of sub-10 nm particles varies with the nanoparticle diameter to cavity size ratio. The impact of template geometry, cavity size and spacing, and nanoparticle ordering in the bulk on the DSA yield will also be discussed. Overall, the present study provides new insights into the potential mechanisms of DSA of nanoparticles onto templated substrates and the relevant driving factors, which help future experimental design of DSA onto templated surfaces at sub-10 nm scales.

Graphical abstract: Unraveling the impact of template geometry and confinement on template-assisted self-assembly of nanoparticles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 feb 2023
Accepted
13 apr 2023
First published
14 apr 2023

Mol. Syst. Des. Eng., 2023,8, 1075-1086

Unraveling the impact of template geometry and confinement on template-assisted self-assembly of nanoparticles

Z. Luo and S. Mehraeen, Mol. Syst. Des. Eng., 2023, 8, 1075 DOI: 10.1039/D3ME00024A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements