Abstract
Contact electrochemical transfer of silver from a metal-film stamp (parallel process) or a metal-coated scanning probe (serial process) is demonstrated to allow site-selective metallization of monolayer template patterns of any desired shape and size created by constructive nanolithography. The precise nanoscale control of metal delivery to predefined surface sites, achieved as a result of the selective affinity of the monolayer template for electrochemically generated metal ions, provides a versatile synthetic tool en route to the bottom-up assembly of electric nanocircuits. These findings offer direct experimental support to the view that, in electrochemical metal deposition, charge is carried across the electrode–solution interface by ion migration to the electrode rather than by electron transfer to hydrated ions in solution.
Highlights
The quest for a chemical methodology applicable to the bottomup fabrication of planned electric nanocircuits that can be effectively addressed from the external macroscopic world continues to pose major synthetic challenges
The hydrophobic and chemically inert OTS surface is locally converted to a hydrophilic and chemically active one. Patterns of such OTSeo regions surrounded by the unmodified OTS monolayer were produced using either conductive SFM probes that can serially inscribe OTSeo features on lateral length scales from nanometers to tens of micrometers [14,15,18,27] or conductive stamps, suitable for one-step parallel printing of OTSeo features extending over much larger surface areas, typically beyond the micrometer [16,22]
As discussed in the following, the selectivity of silver deposition on the OTSeo lines follows from the fact that Ag+ ions generated electrochemically at the metal stamp are transported through the adsorbed water film, acting as an electrolyte, to the target monolayer, where effective nucleation and growth of stable metal grains can occur only at those surface sites that bind the ions, which correspond to the carboxylic acid terminated OTSeo lines of the template nanopattern
Summary
The quest for a chemical methodology applicable to the bottomup fabrication of planned electric nanocircuits that can be effectively addressed from the external macroscopic world continues to pose major synthetic challenges.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
