Equilibrium and Non-Equilibrium Self-Assembly of Nanostructured Materials

Self-assembly of nanoscopic components into higher-order architectures defines the forefront of fundamental nanoscience research and is important for the development of new materials with potential applications in optoelectronics, high-density data storage, catalysis, and biological sensing. In my talk, I will discuss how the peculiar nature of electrostatic and photoinduced dipole-dipole forces acting between nanoscale components can mediate their self-assembly into various superstructures and materials. I will show how the interactions underlying self-assembly can be studied and understood in quantitative detail, and how they can be tailored  to synthesize unusual higher-order architectures: ionic-like crystals of nanoparticles,  crystalline aggregates that can be assembled and disassembled by light, as well as extremely durable and yet very flexible metallic structures. Since these materials display a range of novel optical, electrical and mechanical properties, the discussion of experimental results will be accompanied by theoretical analyses combining elements of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, electrodynamics and elasticity.

References:

 

1. A.M. Kalsin, M. Fialkowski, M. Paszewski, S.K. Smoukov, K. J.M. Bishop & B.A. Grzybowski Electrostatic self-assembly of binary nanoparticle crystals with a diamond lattice, Science, 312, 420 (2006).

2. R. Klajn, K.J.M. Bishop, M. Fialkowski, M. Paszewski, C.J. Campbell, T.P. Gray & B.A. Grzybowski  Plastic and moldable metals by self-assembly of sticky nanoparticle aggregates, Science 316, 261-264 (2007).

3. H.Nakanishi, K.J.M. Bishop, B.Kowalczyk, E.A. Weiss, A. Nitzan, K.V. Tretiakov, M.M. Apodaca, R. Klajn, J.F. Stoddart & B.A. Grzybowski Photoconductance and inverse photoconductance in films of functionalized metal nanoparticles Nature 460, 371-375 (2009).