Orthogonal to guided growth of nanoparticle (NP) crystals using DNA or supramolecules, a trace amount of polymeric impurities (&lt;0.1 wt.%) leads to reproducible, rapid growth of 3-D NP crystals in solution and on patterned substrates with high yield. When polymers preferentially precipitate on the NP surfaces, small NP clusters form and serve nuclei to NP crystal growth in dilute solutions. This precipitation-induced NP crystallization process is applicable for a range of polymers and NPs. And the resultant 3-D NP crystals are tunable by varying polymeric additives loading, solvent evaporation rate, NP size and grafting density. The present study elucidates how to balance cohesive energy density and NP diffusivity to simultaneously favor nuclei formation energetically and kinetic growth in dilute solutions to rapidly crystalize NPs over multiple length scales. Furthermore, the amount of impurities needed to grow NP crystals (&lt;0.1%) highlights the importance of fine details to interpret experimental observations in nanoscience.

Crystallization of polymer grafted nanoparticles induced by polymer precipitation

ACS Fall 2021

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