Nanopattern Manufacture By The Sintering Of Self-Assembled Nanoparticle Arrays; Sintering Studies of Lines, Rafts, and Metamaterials

这笔赠款为一种新的纳米制造方法提供资金，以形成纳米线和复杂的纳米管。该方法包括控制烧结(烧成)自组装的配体稳定的金属和陶瓷纳米颗粒阵列。其目的是建立对(一)颗粒尺寸、(二)颗粒阵列构型、(三)颗粒组成(四)底物特性和(五)配体失稳方法如何影响形成的纳米线或纳米图案的性质的基本理解。三种基本的纳米颗粒类型Au、Ag和g-Fe2O3，每种都被制造成不同尺寸(2-15 nm)的明确范围，将被用作该项目的基本构建块。然后，这些组分将被自组装成单组分的筏和线结构，以及一些新型的复合超材料结构。实验将包括在透射电子显微镜中对烧结过程的原位观察以及对纳米颗粒阵列的室温稳定性的观察。最成功的纳米操纵和图案化方法是基于电子束光刻和扫描探针显微镜技术。不幸的是，这些方法相对昂贵，本质上是连续的，并且不容易适用于纳米管和纳米线的大规模生产。如果这种方法成功，它将创造一种能力，通过简单和廉价的化学方法在更大的规模上重复制造这种纳米结构，因此具有非常重要的实际意义，特别是如果工业要利用纳米技术承诺的潜在好处，并在下一代消费电子产品、化学传感设备和磁记录介质中加以利用。该计划中正在研究的新的纳米制造技术有可能满足后一种标准，前提是这些自组装阵列中的单个纳米颗粒之间的烧结过程可以被控制和理解。

This grant provides funding for a new nano-manufacturing method to form nanowires and complex nanopatterns. The method involves the controlled sintering (firing) of self-assembled arrays of ligand stabilized metal and ceramic nanoparticles. The aim 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 of the nanowire or nanopattern formed. Three basic nanoparticle types Au, Ag and g-Fe2O3, each fabricated with a well-defined range of different sizes (2-15nm), will be used as fundamental building blocks in this project. These constituents will then be self-assembled into single component raft and line structures, as well as some novel composite metamaterial structures. Experiments will involve in-situ observations of the sintering process in a transmission electron microscope as well as observations of the room temperature stability of the nanoparticle arrays.The most successful approaches to nanoscale manipulation and patterning 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. If this approach is successful, it will create an ability to reproducibly manufacture such nanostructures on a larger scale by simple and inexpensive chemical methods and 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, chemical sensing devices and magnetic recording media. The new nanofabrication techniques under investigation in this program have the potential to fulfill these latter criteria provided that the sintering processes occurring between individual nanoparticles in these self-assembled arrays can be controlled and understood.