Three-Dimensional Hexagonal Close-Packed Superlattices of Passivated Ag Nanocrystals

Abstract Silver nanocrystals passivated by dodecanethiol self-assembled monolayers were produced using an aerosol technique described in detail elsewhere [1]. Self-assembling passivated nanocrystal-superlattices (NCS's) involve self-organization into monolayers, thin films, and superlattices of size-selected nanoclusters encapsulated in a protective compact coating [2,3,4,5,6,7]. We report the preparation and structure characterization of three-dimensional (3-D) hexagonal close-packed Ag nanocrystal supercrystals from Ag nanocrystals of ˜4.5 nm in diameters. The crystallography of the superlattice and atomic core lattices were determined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM. SEM was used to image the nanocrystal superlattices formed on an amorphous carbon film of an TEM specimen grid (fig. la). The superlattice films show well shaped, sharply faceted, triangular shaped sheets. Figure lb depicts numerous Ag nanocrystal aggregates uniformly distributed over the imaging region. Inset in this figure is an enlargement of the boxed region at the edge of a supercrystal typifying the ordered nanocrystal packing.