Self-Assembly Phenomenon in Nanoscale Systems

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 3363

Special Issue Editor

School of Chemistry, AMBER and CRANN, Trinity College Dublin, D02 AK60 Dublin, Ireland
Interests: block copolymers; microphase separation; thin film; arrays; nanostructures; hard mask; etching; magnetics; microcellulose
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The scope of possible applications for the self-assembly of nanoscale systems is rapidly expanding, with multidisciplinary contributions involving the fields of chemistry, physics, materials science, biology, and medical science. The self-assembly of nanoscale systems is a phenomenon where molecules, polymers, colloids, or macroscopic particles organize themselves into ordered and/or functional structures or patterns as a consequence of specific local interactions, without external direction. A detailed scientific and technical understanding is essential for the phenomenon, describing the thermodynamics of the process, the types of structures formed, and how the structures might be directed to precise morphology, orientation and alignment, and the elimination of various defects during the process. These properties also enable a plausible route for patterning a variety of different materials into periodic structures using self-assembly as a template.

This Special Issue will be focused on experimental and theoretical aspects of the self-assembly process to create different nanostructures, the study of their properties, and their applications.

Dr. Tandra Ghoshal
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • self-assembly
  • templating
  • arrays
  • nanostructures
  • nanomaterials
  • thermodynamics
  • defects
  • process
  • property
  • applications

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4642 KiB  
Article
Optoelectrical Properties of Transparent Conductive Films Fabricated with Ag Nanoparticle-Suspended Emulsion under Various Formulations and Coating Conditions
by Seong Hwan Kim, Geunyeop Park, Kyu-Byung Kim, Yong-Woo Shin and Hyun Wook Jung
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(7), 1191; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano13071191 - 27 Mar 2023
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Abstract
Transparent conductive films (TCFs) were fabricated through bar-coating with a water-in-toluene emulsion containing Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs). Morphological changes in the self-assembled TCF networks under different emulsion formulations and coating conditions and the corresponding optoelectrical properties were investigated. In preparing various emulsions, the concentration [...] Read more.
Transparent conductive films (TCFs) were fabricated through bar-coating with a water-in-toluene emulsion containing Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs). Morphological changes in the self-assembled TCF networks under different emulsion formulations and coating conditions and the corresponding optoelectrical properties were investigated. In preparing various emulsions, the concentration of AgNPs and the water weight fraction were important factors for determining the size of the water droplets, which plays a decisive role in controlling the optoelectrical properties of the TCFs affected by open cells and conductive lines. An increased concentration of AgNPs and decreased water weight fraction resulted in a decreased droplet size, thus altering the optoelectrical properties. The coating conditions, such as coating thickness and drying temperature, changed the degree of water droplet coalescence due to different emulsion drying rates, which also affected the final self-assembled network structure and optoelectrical properties of the TCFs. Systematically controlling various material and process conditions, we explored a coating strategy to enhance the optoelectrical properties of TCFs, resulting in an achieved transmittance of 86 ± 0.2%, a haze of 4 ± 0.2%, and a sheet resistance of 35 ± 2.8 Ω/□. TCFs with such optimal properties can be applied to touch screen fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembly Phenomenon in Nanoscale Systems)
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13 pages, 5352 KiB  
Article
Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and Carbon Nanotubes: A Dissipative Particle Dynamics Simulation Study
by Mahboube Keshtkar, Nargess Mehdipour and Hossein Eslami
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(15), 2653; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12152653 - 02 Aug 2022
Viewed by 1060
Abstract
Dissipative particle dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the self-assembly of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) as a model lipid membrane on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The influence of surface curvature of CNTs on self-assembly was investigated by performing simulations on solutions of DPPC [...] Read more.
Dissipative particle dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the self-assembly of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) as a model lipid membrane on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The influence of surface curvature of CNTs on self-assembly was investigated by performing simulations on solutions of DPPC in water in contact with CNTs of different diameters: CNT (10, 10), CNT (14, 14), CNT (20, 20), and CNT (34, 34). DPPC solutions with a wide range of concentrations were chosen to allow for formation of lipid structures of various surface densities, ranging from a submonolayer to a well-organized monolayer and a CNT covered with a lipid monolayer immersed in a planar lipid bilayer. Our results are indicative of a sequence of phase-ordering processes for DPPC on the surface of CNTs. At low surface coverages, the majority of hydrocarbon tail groups of DPPC are in contact with the CNT surface. Increasing the surface coverage leads to the formation of hemimicellar aggregates, and at high surface coverages close to the saturation limit, an organized lipid monolayer self-assembles. An examination of the mechanism of self-assembly reveals a two-step mechanism. The first step involves densification of DPPC on the CNT surface. Here, the lipid molecules do not adopt the order of the target phase (lipid monolayer on the CNT surface). In the second step, when the lipid density on the CNT surface is above a threshold value (close to saturation), the lipid molecules reorient themselves to form an organized monolayer around the tube. Here, the DPPC molecules adopt stretched conformations normal to the surface, the end hydrocarbon groups adsorb on the surface, and the head groups occupy the outermost part of the monolayer. The saturation density and the degree of lipid ordering on the CNT surface depend on the surface curvature. The saturation density increases with increased surface curvature, and better-ordered structures are formed on less curved surfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembly Phenomenon in Nanoscale Systems)
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15 pages, 7132 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Dimensional and Structural Controlled Open Pore, Mesoporous Silica Topographies on a Substrate
by Tandra Ghoshal, Atul Thorat, Nadezda Prochukhan and Michael A. Morris
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(13), 2223; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12132223 - 28 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1642
Abstract
Open pore mesoporous silica (MPS) thin films and channels were prepared on a substrate surface. The pore dimension, thickness and ordering of the MPS thin films were controlled by using different concentrations of the precursor and molecular weight of the pluronics. Spectroscopic and [...] Read more.
Open pore mesoporous silica (MPS) thin films and channels were prepared on a substrate surface. The pore dimension, thickness and ordering of the MPS thin films were controlled by using different concentrations of the precursor and molecular weight of the pluronics. Spectroscopic and microscopic techniques were utilized to determine the alignment and ordering of the pores. Further, MPS channels on a substrate surface were fabricated using commercial available lithographic etch masks followed by an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etch. Attempts were made to shrink the channel dimension by using a block copolymer (BCP) hard mask methodology. In this regard, polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) block copolymer (BCP) thin film forming perpendicularly oriented PEO cylinders in a PS matrix after microphase separation through solvent annealing was used as a structural template. An insitu hard mask methodology was applied which selectively incorporate the metal ions into the PEO microdomains followed by UV/Ozone treatment to generate the iron oxide hard mask nanopatterns. The aspect ratio of the MPS nanochannels can be varied by altering etching time without altering their shape. The MPS nanochannels exhibited good coverage across the entire substrate and allowed direct access to the pore structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembly Phenomenon in Nanoscale Systems)
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