Self-directed self-assembly of nanoparticle/copolymer mixtures

Yao Lin, Alexander Böker, Jinbo He, Kevin Sill, Hongqi Xiang, Clarissa Abetz, Xuefa Li, Jin Wang, Todd Emrick, Su Long, Qian Wang, Anna Balazs and Thomas P. Russell ()
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Yao Lin: University of Massachusetts
Alexander Böker: University of Massachusetts
Jinbo He: University of Massachusetts
Kevin Sill: University of Massachusetts
Hongqi Xiang: University of Massachusetts
Clarissa Abetz: Universität Bayreuth
Xuefa Li: Argonne National Laboratory
Jin Wang: Argonne National Laboratory
Todd Emrick: University of Massachusetts
Su Long: University of South Carolina
Qian Wang: University of South Carolina
Anna Balazs: University of Pittsburgh
Thomas P. Russell: University of Massachusetts

Nature, 2005, vol. 434, issue 7029, 55-59

Abstract: Abstract The organization of inorganic nanostructures within self-assembled organic or biological templates1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 is receiving the attention of scientists interested in developing functional hybrid materials. Previous efforts have concentrated on using such scaffolds7,9,12 to spatially arrange nanoscopic elements as a strategy for tailoring the electrical, magnetic or photonic properties8,9,10,11,13,14,15,16 of the material. Recent theoretical arguments16,17,18 have suggested that synergistic interactions between self-organizing particles and a self-assembling matrix material can lead to hierarchically ordered structures. Here we show that mixtures of diblock copolymers and either cadmium selenide- or ferritin-based nanoparticles exhibit cooperative, coupled self-assembly on the nanoscale. In thin films, the copolymers assemble into cylindrical domains, which dictate the spatial distribution of the nanoparticles; segregation of the particles to the interfaces mediates interfacial interactions and orients the copolymer domains normal to the surface, even when one of the blocks is strongly attracted to the substrate. Organization of both the polymeric and particulate entities is thus achieved without the use of external fields10,19, opening a simple and general route for fabrication of nanostructured materials with hierarchical order.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature03310

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