NER: Programmed Assembly of Nanoparticles

这项研究的目的是将自组装编程成纳米颗粒构建块。该方法是通过选择性地对一个半球或更少的半球进行图案化来打破球形纳米粒子的对称性。通过随后聚合物链在纳米颗粒表面的两个区域中的一个上的化学附着，可以精确地控制不同纳米颗粒之间的相互作用。诸如聚合物链长度、聚合物侧链功能和聚合物链的化学交联等因素可以改变以产生所需的排列。操纵纳米粒子并将其锁定在预定结构中的方法的发展，为设计和构建具有纳米尺度的物体和材料提供了新的可能性。在过去的几年里，已经有可能合成一系列具有不同寻常的电学、光学和磁性质的纳米级粒子。纳米科学和纳米技术的最终成功之门将是将这些纳米级的构建块编程组装成功能设备。拟议的研究将开发纳米颗粒的新组装方法，并将为将纳米技术从实验室转化为实践提供坚实的科学基础。

The objective of this research is to program self-assembly into nanoparticle building blocks. The approach is to break the symmetry of spherical nanoparticles by selectively patterning one hemisphere or less. Through subsequent chemical attachment of polymer chains to one of the two regions on the nanoparticle surface, the interaction between different nanoparticles can be precisely controlled. Factors such as polymer chain length, polymer side chain functionality and chemical crosslinking of the polymer chains can be varied to yield a desired arrangement. The development of methods to manipulate nanoparticles and lock them into predefined structures provides new possibilities for designing and constructing objects and materials that have dimensions on the nanometer scale. In the past few years, it has become possible to synthesize a range of nanometer-sized particles with unusual electrical, optical, and magnetic properties. The gateway to the eventual success of nanoscience and nanotechnology will be the programmed assembly of such nanometer-sized building blocks into functional devices. The proposed research will develop new assembly methods for nanoparticles and will provide a sound scientific foundation for translating nanotechnology from the laboratory to practice.