Langmuir-Blodgett Deposition of Anisotropic Nanoparticles

Langmuir-Blodgett coating (LB) is an effective tool for the deposition of nano- and microparticles in mono- or multilayers onto a substrate. During LB deposition, a monolayer of colloidal particles (ex. surfactants, polymers, or nanoparticles) is deposited from a fluid/fluid interface onto a substrate moving through that interface at a specified speed. Although there is a substantial volume of previous work illustrating the potential of this technique to the directed self-assembly of colloidal and nanoparticles, there remain open questions. For instance, it is unknown to what extent the mechanics and rheology of an interface laden with anisotropic particles impacts the structure of deposited material. This poster will summarize our group’s work on developing a relationship between the interfacial microstructure of anisotropic nanomaterials to the deposited morphology during LB deposition.