NER: Nanowire and Nanopattern Fabrication by the Sintering of Self-Assembled Nanoparticle Arrays

这个探索性研究项目的目的是对一种新的纳米制造方法的潜在有用性进行基本评估；即故意烧结自组装的配体稳定金属纳米颗粒阵列，形成纳米线和复杂的二维纳米图案。迄今为止，在纳米尺度上最成功的材料操作和图案化方法是基于电子束光刻和扫描探针显微镜技术。不幸的是，这些方法相对昂贵，本质上是串行的，并且不容易适用于纳米图案和纳米线的大规模生产。因此，通过简单而廉价的化学方法在更大范围内可重复制造这种纳米结构的能力具有重要的实际意义，特别是如果纳米技术有望带来的潜在好处被工业所接受，并在下一代消费电子产品中得到利用的话。如果在自组装阵列中单个纳米颗粒之间发生的烧结过程可以被控制和理解，那么本项目正在研究的新型纳米制造技术有可能满足后一个标准。本研究计划的目的是建立一个基本的理解如何(i)颗粒尺寸，（ii）颗粒阵列配置，（iii）颗粒组成，（iv）底物特性，以及(v)配体不稳定方法影响纳米线或纳米图案形成的性质。在透射电子显微镜下对动态纳米颗粒烧结过程的现场观察，以及与微米级颗粒之间发生的众所周知的烧结现象的关键比较，将形成我们分析这个问题的方法的基石。该项目的更广泛影响包括与利物浦大学的国际合作，并将这项工作整合到利哈伊大学最先进的互动课堂教学中。这个设施可以连接到其他宾夕法尼亚大学，以及未来扩展到几个少数民族服务机构。

The objective of this exploratory research project is to carry out a basic assessment of the potential usefulness of a new nanomanufacturing method; namely, the deliberate sintering of self-assembled arrays of ligand stabilized metal nanoparticles to form nanowires and complex 2-D nanopatterns. To date, the most successful approaches to materials manipulation and patterning on the nanoscale have been based on electron beam lithography and scanning probe microscopy techniques. Unfortunately these methods are relatively expensive, serial in nature, and are not readily applicable to mass production of nanopatterns and nanowires. The ability to reproducibly manufacture such nanostructures on a larger scale by simple and inexpensive chemical methods is therefore of great practical importance, especially if the promised potential benefits of nanotechnology are to be taken up by industry and exploited in the next generation of consumer electronics. The new nanofabrication technique under investigation in this program has the potential to fulfill these latter criteria provided that the sintering processes occurring between individual nanoparticles in the self-assembled arrays can be controlled and understood. The aim of this research program is to establish a basic understanding of how (i) particle size, (ii) particle array configuration, (iii) particle composition, (iv) substrate identity, and (v) ligand destabilization method affect the nature of the nanowire or nanopattern formed. In-situ observations of dynamic nanoparticle sintering processes in a transmission electron microscope, along with critical comparisons to the well-known sintering phenomena that occur between micron-scale particles, will form the cornerstones of our analytical approach to this problem. Broader impacts of this project include international collaboration with the University of Liverpool and integration of this work into course taught through the state-of-the-art interactive classroom at Lehigh University. This facility enables connection to other Pennsylvania universities, as well as future expansion to several minority-serving institutions.