Self-assembly and integration of ordered, robust, three-dimensional gold nanocrystal/silica arrays.
- Davidson College, Davidson, NC
- Center for High Technology Materials, Albuquerque, NM
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
We report the synthesis of a new nanocrystal (NC) mesophase through self-assembly of water-soluble NC micelles with soluble silica. The mesophase comprises gold nanocrystals arranged within a silica matrix in a face-centered cubic lattice with cell dimensions that are adjustable through control of the nanocrystal diameter and/or the alkane chain lengths of the primary alkanethiol stabilizing ligands or the surrounding secondary surfactants. Under kinetically controlled silica polymerization conditions, evaporation drives self-assembly of NC micelles into ordered NC/silica thin-film mesophases during spin coating. The intermediate NC micelles are water soluble and of interest for biolabeling. Initial experiments on a metal-insulator-metal capacitor fabricated with an ordered three-dimensional gold nanocrystal/silica array as the 'insulator' demonstrated collective Coulomb blockade behavior below 100 kelvin and established the current-voltage scaling relationship for a well-defined three-dimensional array of Coulomb islands.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1003910
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2003-2839J; SCEHDK; TRN: US201103%%12
- Journal Information:
- Proposed for publication in Science., Vol. 304, Issue 5670; ISSN 0193-4511
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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