Web Release Date: November 16,
Thermally-Driven Nanoparticle Array Growth from Atomic Au Precursor Solutions
and
Departments of Physics and Chemistry, The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Received: August 21, 2007
In Final Form: October 24, 2007
Abstract:
We observe spontaneous formation of hexagonal and square arrays of sub-10-nm Au nanoparticles by asymmetric heating of a novel precursor material, alkanethiol-passivated atomic Au cluster solutions, on amorphous carbon films. Nanoparticle shape, array symmetry, and lattice constant are controlled by substrate temperature and solvent composition. It is shown that definition of the array lattice points precedes complete particle formation, ruling out an entropy-driven "hard sphere"-type self-assembly process. Mechanisms for monolayer array formation are discussed.
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