Functional hierarchical assemblies of block copolymer-stabilized nanoparticles

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The need for advanced materials for photonics, signal processing, biological imaging, and sensing has spurred a growing field of research into tuning material properties at the nano-scale. Metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles are exciting candidates as "building blocks" for a diverse range of nanostructured materials, due to unique optical and electronic properties that can be tuned as a function of size. For device applications, controlling the spatial organization of nanoparticles is critical, due to collective optical effects that operate on different length scales. In fact, whereas the first 20 years of nanoparticle research was concerned primarily with size-property relations, researchers in recent years have begun to address aspects of nanoparticle organization on multiple length scales. Another challenge for materials scientists has been the incorporation of nanoparticles into polymers, driven by the potential for thin and flexible devices.