Ordering of Polystyrene Nanoparticles on Substrates Pre-Coated with Different Polyelectrolyte Architectures

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Zuleyha Yenice¹  Matthias Karg² 

[1] Department of Chemistry, Stranski-Laboratorium, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 124, D-10623 Berlin, Germany; E-Mail:;Physical Chemistry I, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: self-assembly;    polystyrene nanoparticles;    dip-coating;    spin-coating;    non-close packed;    polyelectrolyte brushes;    PDMAEMA brushes;    multilayer films;    particle deposition;    interface;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms140612893

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Adjusting the inter-particle distances in ordered nanoparticle arrays can create new nano-devices and is of increasing importance to a number of applications such as nanoelectronics and optical devices. The assembly of negatively charged polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles (NPs) on Poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) brushes, quaternized PDMAEMA brushes and Si/PEI/(PSS/PAH)₂, was studied using dip- and spin-coating techniques. By dip-coating, two dimensional (2-D), randomly distributed non-close packed particle arrays were assembled on Si/PEI/(PSS/PAH)₂ and PDMAEMA brushes. The inter-particle repulsion leads to lateral mobility of the particles on these surfaces. The 200 nm diameter PS NPs tended to an inter-particle distance of 350 to 400 nm (center to center). On quaternized PDMAEMA brushes, the strong attractive interaction between the NPs and the brush dominated, leading to clustering of the particles on the brush surface. Particle deposition using spin-coating at low spin rates resulted in hexagonal close-packed multilayer structures on Si/PEI/(PSS/PAH)₂. Close-packed assemblies with more pronounced defects are also observed on PDMAEMA brushes and QPDMAEMA brushes. In contrast, randomly distributed monolayer NP arrays were achieved at higher spin rates on all polyelectrolyte architectures. The area fraction of the particles decreased with increasing spin rate.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland