title: Competing Forces in the Self-Assembly of Coupled ZnO Nanopyramids.
abstract: Self-assembly (SA) of nanostructures has recently gained increasing interest. A clear understanding of the process is not straightforward since SA of nanoparticles is a complex multiscale phenomenon including different driving forces. Here, we study the SA between aluminum doped ZnO nanopyramids into couples by combining inorganic chemistry and advanced electron microscopy techniques with atomistic simulations. Our results show that the SA of the coupled nanopyramids is controlled first by morphology, as coupling only occurs in the case of pyramids with well-developed facets of the basal planes. The combination of electron microscopy and atomistic modeling reveals that the coupling is further driven by strong ligand-ligand interaction between the bases of the pyramids as dominant force, while screening effects due to Al doping or solvent as well as core-core interaction are only minor contributions. Our combined approach provides a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between the interactions at work in the coupled SA of ZnO nanopyramids.
authors.affiliation: †Electron Microscopy for Materials Research (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Javon
authors.affiliation: ‡Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CINaM UMR 7325, 13288 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Meriem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaceur
authors.affiliation: ‡Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CINaM UMR 7325, 13288 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Walid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dachraoui
authors.affiliation: ‡Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CINaM UMR 7325, 13288 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Margeat
authors.affiliation: ‡Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CINaM UMR 7325, 13288 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ackermann
authors.affiliation: §Istituto Officina dei Materiali (CNR-IOM) Unità Cagliari SLACS, Cittadella Universitaria, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Ilenia
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.affiliation: §Istituto Officina dei Materiali (CNR-IOM) Unità Cagliari SLACS, Cittadella Universitaria, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy.|∥CompuNet, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Via Morego 30 16163 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delugas
authors.affiliation: §Istituto Officina dei Materiali (CNR-IOM) Unità Cagliari SLACS, Cittadella Universitaria, I-09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mattoni
authors.affiliation: †Electron Microscopy for Materials Research (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bals
authors.affiliation: †Electron Microscopy for Materials Research (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gustaaf
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Tendeloo
keywords: ZnO nanocrystal; dipole−dipole force; electron tomography; hybrid nanostructures; ligands; model potential molecular dynamics; self-assembly