Instant interfacial self-assembly for homogeneous nanoparticle monolayer enabled conformal "lift-on" thin film technology.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34936430.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abk2852 and PMC identifier 8694583.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
Thin film fabrication is of great importance in modern engineering. Here, we propose a universal and conformal thin film technique enabled by the wetting empowered interfacial self-assembly. By tailoring the contact angle of nanoparticle (NP), a NP monolayer can be assembled instantly (within 5 seconds) with an excellent harvesting efficiency (up to 97.5 weight %). This self-assembly strategy presents a universal applicability on various materials, e.g., nonmetal, metal, and core-shell structures, and can achieve a monolayer with same in-plane area as a 95 cm<sup>2</sup> wafer in a single process, indicating great potential for scale-up manufacturing. Through a template transfer, we coat the surface of different substrates (plastic, paper, etc.) with the assembled film in a conformal and nondestructive “lift-on” manner and subsequently demonstrate fluorescent micropatterns. This self-assembly strategy has great implications in advancing thin film technology in a user-friendly and cost-effective fashion for applications in anti-counterfeiting, actuators, and wearable/flexible electronics.