Capillary Wave-Assisted Colloidal Assembly.

ABSTRACT: The self-assembly of nanoparticle colloids into large-area monolayers with long-range order is a grand challenge in nanotechnology. Using acoustic energy, i.e., acoustic annealing, to improve the crystal quality of self-assembled colloidal monolayers is a new solution to this challenge, but the characterization of the capillary waves driving the annealing process is lacking. We use a laser Doppler vibrometer and optical diffraction to uncover the frequency-dependent effects of capillary waves on the real-time self-assembly of submicrometer diameter polystyrene nanospheres at an air-water interface. Our study unambiguously demonstrates that low-frequency, e.g., sub-100 Hz, capillary waves are key to improving the long-range order of colloidal monolayers on an air-water interface. Furthermor

SUBMITTER: Caso MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11823604 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature