Understanding and Preventing Nanocarpet Effect

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Abstract The research objective of this award is to perform a systematic study on the nanocarpet behavior of aligned nanorod array surfaces with different structures and morphologies. When high aspect ratio nanorod arrays are treated by liquid and dried, the original morphological structure could suffer a permanent change, which will alter the performance of the nanostructure arrays. By exploring the detailed relationships between the clustering of the nanocarpet effect and the mechanical properties of individual nanorods with different heights, shapes, materials, and the liquid properties, the proposed research seeks answers to the following fundamental questions: (1) How does the mechanical stability of nanostructures affect the nanocarpet effect? (2) What process causes the nanocarpet effect (and the pattern formation), and how to prevent this effect? (3) What will be the novel fluidic properties for nanorod array substrates and how can we use it for different applications? This transformative research has a potential to obtain fundamental knowledge on liquid-nanostructure interaction and help to design robust nanostructures for applications in liquid environment such as sensors, nanofluidic systems, etc. The success of the project would have a large and immediate impact in the areas of: i) nanostructure fabrication and engineering, ii) fundamental surface science, iii) mechanical properties of nanostructures, iv) sensor design and implement, and v) bioanalytical applications. The lab-based nanotechnology course module will help undergraduate and high school students to obtain hands-on experience with nanofabrication. This project will also establish a rigorous material physics, mechanical engineering, and nanotechnology education and training opportunity for both graduate and undergraduate students.