Assembling Nanoparticle Arrays at Fluid Interfaces

制造电子、传感器、太阳能电池和其他设备的新材料的一种方法是将纳米颗粒组装成有序结构。该项目将开发新的方法，在液体和空气之间的界面上将纳米颗粒组装成二维单分子层。该项目将使用氧化铁纳米颗粒和半导体纳米晶体，这两种材料经常用于重要的技术应用。为了控制和调整组装过程，纳米颗粒将被覆盖有影响颗粒之间相互作用的化合物。将使用各种方法研究化合物对颗粒单分子层形成的影响、单分子层内颗粒之间的距离以及所得到的单分子膜的特性。该项目中的方法是一般性的，因此结果应该适用于在液体表面上形成广泛的二维组件，然后这些组件可以转移到固体表面。由此产生的材料可以用于涉及光和电导的技术。该项目将为所有学术水平的学生提供参与研究的机会，该项目的参与者将在哈莱姆STM博览会上为儿童和成人主持材料和工程演示。该项目的目标是结合建模和新的实验方法，使合理设计有序的二维纳米颗粒单层，充分利用纳米颗粒的独特和可调特性。将探索一种使用可混溶液体形成单层的新途径，以确定是否可以形成用标准方法无法获得的结构。将合成带有配体的纳米粒子，并用X射线衍射、吸收光谱和透射电子显微镜对其进行表征。纳米粒子核心的大小、多分散性和配体组成将被确定。实时显微镜将被用来跟踪纳米颗粒在界面形成单分子层的过程。由于纳米粒子的物理耦合可以与它们的电子耦合联系在一起，因此将对所制造的结构进行电学和光学测量，并将其与制造过程的细节相关联。建模将被用来研究纳米颗粒在界面上有序性的演变，以及随着周围液体的蒸发而产生的结构的动力学和性质。最后，将开发将得到的纳米颗粒层转移到固体衬底上，同时监测单层性质的方法。

CBET - 1603043PI: Herman, Irving P.One route to making new materials for electronics, sensors, solar cells and other devices is to assemble nanoparticles into ordered structures. This project will develop new ways of assembling nanoparticles into two-dimensional monolayers at interfaces between liquid and air. The project will use iron oxide nanoparticles and semiconductor nanocrystals, which are often used in important technological applications. To control and tune the assembly process, the nanoparticles will be coated with chemical compounds that influence interactions among the particles. The effect of the compounds on the formation of a particle monolayer, the distances between particles within the monolayer, and characteristics of the resulting monolayer will be investigated using a variety of methods. The approaches in the project are general, so results should apply to the formation of a wide range of two-dimensional assemblies on liquid surfaces, which can then be transferred to solid surfaces. The resulting materials can be used in technologies involving light and electrical conduction. The project will provide opportunities for students at all academic levels to participate in research, and participants in the project will host materials and engineering demonstrations for children and adults in the Harlem STM Expo.This goal of this project is to use a combination of modeling and new experimental approaches to enable the rational design of ordered two-dimensional nanoparticle monolayers that takes full advantage of the unique and tunable properties of nanoparticles. A new route to monolayer formation using miscible liquids will be explored to determine if structures can be formed that cannot be obtained with standard methods. Nanoparticles capped with ligands will be synthesized and characterized by x-ray diffraction, absorption spectra and transmission electron microscopy. The size of the nanoparticle core, polydispersity, and ligand composition will be determined. Real time microscopy will be used to track the formation of the nanoparticles into monolayers at interfaces. Since physical coupling of nanoparticles can be linked to their electronic coupling, electrical and optical measurements of the fabricated structures will be conducted and correlated with details of the fabrication procedures. Modeling will be used to examine the evolution of nanoparticle ordering at interfaces and the dynamics and properties of the resulting structures as surrounding liquid evaporates. Finally, methods of transferring the resulting nanoparticle layer to a solid substrate, while monitoring monolayer properties, will be developed.