Rapid Macroscopic-Scale Assembly of Ag Nanowires at the Water/Air Interface.

Abstract

Rapid macroscopic-scale assembly of Ag nanowires was demonstrated through facile self-assembly at the water/air interface. This self-assembly was induced by heating due to the surface tension effect and convection. Interestingly, a rippled hairstyle superstructure was observed when the aqueous dispersions of thinner Ag nanowires were heated. Applying the Euler buckling theory for a set of aligned Ag nanowires, it was found that the water surface tension was sufficient to bend or buckle these free Ag nanowires trapped between two nanowire stripes, which resulted in the formation of the rippled hairstyle superstructure. However, the formation of the nanowire stripes was driven by steric repulsion of nanowires along with their short-range van der Waals interactions and later lateral capillary attraction between large building blocks. Such control over self-assembly is key for designing hierarchically ordered structures, which opens a new opportunity in the exploration of novel properties and the development of new applications.