title: Directing the formation of nanostructured rings via local oxidation.
abstract: We provide compelling evidence that ring formation in solutions of thiol-passivated Au nanoparticles is driven by breath figure dynamics. A method for the controlled placement of rings of nanoparticles on a solid substrate, which exploits variations in substrate wettability to fix the positions of the submicrometer water droplets formed in the breath figure process, has been developed. This is achieved by heterogeneously patterning hydrogen-terminated silicon substrates with oxide regions that act as adsorption sites for the droplets. The droplets in turn template the formation of thiol-passivated Au nanoparticle rings during spin-casting from volatile solvents.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom. andrew.stannard@nottingham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stannard
authors.forename: Haya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alhummiany
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pauliac-Vaujour
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moriarty
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Thiele
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010316:Particle Size; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D006046:Gold