Current methods of preparing metal nanoparticle superstructures take two steps, i.e. synthesis of nanoparticles and subsequent assembly to superstructures. A facile method to simultaneous synthesis and assembly of metal nanoparticle superstructures is demonstrated. In one example, the simultaneous synthesis and assembly process is facilitated by a layer of polymer brush(Fig. 1). By varying the adsorption time of Ag precursors, an array of well-defined Ag nanoparticle superstructures such as spherical, tetrakaidecahedral, corner-truncated octahedral, and octahedral are harvested. When we switch the reducing agent, the similar trend with slightly different kinetics is observed. The types of metals, reducing agents, and facilitators such as copolymer brushes are examined. The role of polymer brush for this kinetically-controlled one-step process is revealed. This facile approach to designer metal superstructures may pave a way to scalable process for commercial production of three dimensional photonic and plasmonic materials for practical applications. Figure 1. <img src='https://acs-archive-assets2.s3.amazonaws.com/241nm/uploads/71000_figure1.jpg' alt='' /> Figure 1. Fabrication of Ag superstructures with controllable morphologies

Facile method to simultaneous synthesis and assembly of metal nanoparticle superstructures

248th National Meeting (2014)

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