Nanoparticles in a Capillary Trap: Dynamic Self-Assembly at Fluid Interfaces

Dynamic self-assembly is an emerging scientific concept aimed to construct artificial systems of adaptative behavior. Here, we present a first nanoscopic system that is able to dynamically self-assemble in two dimensions. This system is composed of charged gold nanoparticles, dispersed at the air-water interface, which self-assemble into a dense monolayer of area of several square centimeters in response to surface tension gradient. The surface tension gradient is imposed by localized addition or removal of organic solvent from the interface. After the surface tension is equalized over the whole fluid interface, the nanoparticles return to their initial dispersed state. The arrangement of nanoparticles before and after the self-assembly was characterized using SEM microscopy and SAXS spectroscopy. The constructed self-assembling system offers a "chemical" alternative for the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Also, it was applied for creating self-erasing nanoparticle patterns on a fluid surface.