Spatially controlled assembly of nanomaterials at the nanoscale.
A molecular monolayer of 4-nitrothiophenol ongold electrodes is reduced electrochemically when its nitro groups are converted into amino groups by potentiometric scans. The protonated amine with its NH3+ functions can be employed to induce the self-assembly of gold nanoparticles at the surface of the electrodes. The electrochemical reaction and the induced assembly process can be controlled at the nanoscale level on the electrodes with a high degree of selectivity. The technology opens up the possibility of fabricating complex multi-nanomaterial nanostructures on the basis of a two-step electrochemical assembly process.
Parthasarathy
Puru
P
California NanoSystems Institute and Departtment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1597, USA.
Mendes
Paula M
PM
Schopf
Eric
E
Preece
Jon A
JA
Stoddart
Fraser
F
Chen
Yong
Y