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

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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.