title: Nanospiral Formation by Droplet Drying: One Molecule at a Time.
abstract: We have created nanospirals by self-assembly during droplet evaporation. The nanospirals, 60-70 nm in diameter, formed when solvent mixtures of methanol and m-cresol were used. In contrast, spin coating using only methanol as the solvent produced epitaxial films of stripe nanopatterns and using only m-cresol disordered structure. Due to the disparity in vapor pressure between the two solvents, droplets of m-cresol solution remaining on the substrate serve as templates for the self-assembly of carboxylic acid molecules, which in turn allows the visualization of solution droplet evaporation one molecule at a time.
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 48202, USA.
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Wan
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 48202, USA.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Li
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 48202, USA. gzmao@eng.wayne.edu.
authors: Guangzhao
authors: G
authors: Mao
keywords: Atomic-force microscopy; Interfaces; Nanostructures; Patterning; Self-assembly; Templates