Engineering the Electrostatic Interactions between Oppositely Charged Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles for Constructing Colloid Molecules on Substrates.

Shen, Xiaoxue; He, Huibin; Zheng, Di; Cao, Wei; Sang, Yutao; Nie, Zhihong · ACS Nano · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Arrays of nanoparticle (NP) clusters with controlled architectures show broad applications in nanolasers, sensors, and photocatalysis, but the fabrication of these arrays on substrates remains a grand challenge. This review presents a highly effective polymer-based strategy for the process-directed self-assembly of binary polyelectrolyte-grafted NPs (PGNPs) bearing opposite charges into stable colloidal molecules (CMs) on substrates via electrostatic interactions. The coordination number (<i>x</i>) of AB<sub><i>x</i></sub> CMs can be tuned by adjusting the pH or ionic strength of the solution or by employing different combinations of PGNPs with varying charge densities. Large-area CMs with diverse structures ranging from AB to AB<sub>7</sub> can be constructed on substrates in high yields. This approach is applicable to PGNPs with different cores of NPs. This assembly strategy offers a useful tool for the fabrication of structurally precise assemblies on substrates with broad applications.