title: Self-assembly of nanomaterials at fluid interfaces.
abstract: Recent developments in the field of the self-assembly of nanoscale materials such as nanoparticles, nanorods and nanosheets at liquid/liquid interfaces are reviewed. Self-assembly behavior of both biological and synthetic particles is discussed. For biological nanoparticles, the nanoparticle assembly at fluid interfaces provides a simple route for directing nanoparticles into 2D or 3D constructs with hierarchical ordering. The interfacial assembly of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) at liquid interfaces would play a key role in applications such as nanotube fractionation, flexible electronic thin-film fabrication and synthesis of porous SWCNT/polymer composites foams. Liquids can be structured by the jamming of nanoparticle surfactants at fluid interfaces. By controlling the interfacial packing of nanoparticle surfactants using external triggers, a new class of materials can be generated that combines the desirable characteristics of fluids such as rapid transport of energy carriers with the structural stability of a solid.
authors.affiliation: Department of of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA.|Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, USA.
authors.forename: Anju
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toor
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. russell@mail.pse.umass.edu.|Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, USA. russell@mail.pse.umass.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011108:Polymers; D013501:Surface-Active Agents
keywords: Soft Matter: Interfacial Phenomena and Nanostructured Surfaces