Self-assembly Of Polystyrene Nanospheres Research Articles

Casting liquid PDMS on self-assembled bilayer polystyrene nanospheres to prepare a SERS substrate with two layers of nanopits for detection of p-nitrophenol.

p-Nitrophenol (PNP) is widely used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and dyestuffs. It is vital to detect trace PNP in the environment, because it poses significant environmental hazards due to its high toxicity. In this paper, a new method was reported for preparing a SERS substrate with excellent SERS activity by combining self-assembly techniques and flexible materials. First, the three-dimensional (3D) polystyrene (PS) photonic crystal (PC) structural master was fabricated by stacking two layers of self-assembled PS nanospheres with different diameters. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a complementary structure to the master was obtained by casting, curing and peeling off. Finally, the PDMS-Ag substrate was fabricated by sputtering a thin Ag layer on the PDMS structure. The enhancement factor (EF) of the PDMS-Ag substrate was calculated to be 2.90 × 109 by using 4-amino thiophenol (ATP) as the probe molecule, and the limit of detection (LOD) for ATP can reach 10-11 M. And the RSD of the SERS intensity for the peak at 1078 cm-1 on the PDMS-Ag substrates from batch to batch was within 2%, indicating the high reproducibility of the as-prepared substrate. The quantitative analysis of PNP was achieved with a LOD of 10-8 M. Therefore, the PDMS-Ag substrate exhibits high sensitivity and reproducibility, and it can detect PNP in trace amounts, with great potential for detecting other contaminants.

CsPbBr3 microarrays with tunable periodicity, optoelectronic and field emission properties using self-assembled polystyrene template and co-evaporation method.

The booming growth of all inorganic cesium lead halide perovskites in optoelectronic applications has prompted extensive research interest in the fabrication of ordered nanostructures or microarrays for enhanced device performances. However, the high cost and complexity of commercial lithographic approaches impede the facile fabrication of perovskite microarrays. Herein, CsPbBr3 microarrays with tunable periodicities have been fabricated using a self-assembled polystyrene nanosphere template and a co-evaporation method. The periodicity of CsPbBr3 microarrays is precisely manipulated by simply modifying the size of polystyrene nanospheres. These microarrays are beneficial for light harvesting, leading to better light absorption ability and prolonged photoinduced carrier lifetime. The longest average carrier lifetime of 58.3 ns is obtained for CsPbBr3 microarrays with a periodicity of 1.0 μm. More importantly, the periodic structures of CsPbBr3 microarrays result in a tunable density of emitter tips in field emission devices. Compared to compact CsPbBr3 films, a 68.2% decrease of the turn-on field is observed for CsPbBr3 microarrays when the periodicity is 150 nm. The higher density of emitter tips leads to larger local field enhancement, and hence the largest field enhancement factor of 3346.6. Finally, a good emission current stability for CsPbBr3 microarray-based field emission devices has been demonstrated.

Nanosecond laser-induced reshaping of periodic silicon nanostructures

We demonstrated the use of laser-induced reshaping to produce periodic silicon nanostructures (PSNs) with different geometries. Periodically located silicon nanostructures were preformed by dry etching of a silicon wafer covered with a monolayer of self-assembled polystyrene nanospheres. These PSNs were reshaped under ambient conditions by irradiation with two kinds of nanosecond lasers (532 nm and 355 nm). The effects of the irradiation parameters on the reshaped geometry were systematically investigated. Vertical growth of the irradiated PSNs resulted from the epitaxial deposition of rich silicon vapor during laser irradiation. However, the growth was limited even with higher laser fluence because of the nanoscale structure, the size of which is smaller than the melting depth induced by the nanosecond lasers. The reshaped PSNs displayed reflection spectra that are tunable by varying the characteristics of reshaping-laser input. This method offers a promising approach for the site-selective fabrication of optically tunable 3D nanostructures.

Near-infrared photodetection with plasmon-induced hot electrons using silicon nanopillar array structure

A plasmon-induced hot-electron photodetector based on silicon nanopillar array is developed. The nanostructure is fabricated by reactive ion etching with a monolayer of self-assembled polystyrene nanosphere in hexagonal close-packed lattice as the mask. Light absorption and hot-electron generation are mainly enhanced by the surface plasmon polaritons formed at the surface of the gold film on the nanopillar sidewalls. The photoresponse spans two telecom wavebands, viz. the range of 1250–1600 nm, and has a value of 2.5 mA W−1 at 1310 nm. The proposed silicon nanopillar-based hot-electron infrared detector has great potentials for device integration in silicon photonics relying on the economic large-area fabrication process.

Bi-Component Nanostructured Arrays of Co Dots Embedded in Ni80Fe20 Antidot Matrix: Synthesis by Self-Assembling of Polystyrene Nanospheres and Magnetic Properties.

A bi-component nanostructured system composed by a Co dot array embedded in a Ni80Fe20 antidot matrix has been prepared by means of the self-assembling polystyrene nanospheres lithography technique. Reference samples constituted by the sole Co dots or Ni80Fe20 antidots have also been prepared, in order to compare their properties with those of the bi-component material. The coupling between the two ferromagnetic elements has been studied by means of magnetic and magneto-transport measurements. The Ni80Fe20 matrix turned out to affect the vortex nucleation field of the Co dots, which in turn modifies the magneto-resistance behaviour of the system and its spinwave properties.

Multiresonant layered plasmonic films

Multiresonant nanoplasmonic films have numerous applications in areas such as nonlinear optics and sensing and as spectral tags. Although techniques such as focused ion beam milling and electron beam lithography can produce high-quality multiresonant films, these techniques are expensive, serial processes that are difficult to scale at the manufacturing level. Here, we present the fabrication of multiresonant nanoplasmonic films using a layered stacking technique. Periodically spaced gold nanocup substrates were fabricated using self-assembled polystyrene nanospheres followed by oxygen plasma etching and metal deposition via magnetron sputter coating. By adjusting etch parameters and initial nanosphere size, it was possible to achieve an optical response ranging from the visible to the near-infrared. Singly resonant, flexible films were first made by performing peel-off using an adhesive-coated polyolefin film. Through stacking layers of the nanofilm, we demonstrate fabrication of multiresonant films at a fraction of the cost and effort compared with top-down lithographic techniques.

Surface modification and cellular uptake evaluation of Au-coated Ni80Fe20 nanodiscs for biomedical applications.

A nanofabrication technique based on self-assembling of polystyrene nanospheres is used to obtain magnetic Ni80Fe20 nanoparticles with a disc shape. The free-standing nanodiscs (NDs) have diameter and thickness of about 630 nm and 30 nm, respectively. The versatility of fabrication technique allows one to cover the ND surface with a protective gold layer with a thickness of about 5 nm. Magnetization reversal has been studied by room-temperature hysteresis loop measurements in water-dispersed free-standing NDs. The reversal shows zero remanence, high susceptibility and nucleation/annihilation fields due to spin vortex formation. In order to investigate their potential use in biomedical applications, the effect of NDs coated with or without the protective gold layer on cell growth has been evaluated. A successful attempt to bind cysteine-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) derivative to the gold surface of magnetic NDs has been exploited to verify the intracellular uptake of the NDs by cytofluorimetric analysis using the FITC conjugate.

Influence of lattice defects on the ferromagnetic resonance behaviour of 2D magnonic crystals.

This paper studies, from a modelling point of view, the influence of randomly distributed lattice defects (non-patterned areas and variable hole size) on the ferromagnetic resonance behaviour and spin wave mode profiles of 2D magnonic crystals based on Ni80Fe20 antidot arrays with hexagonal lattice. A reference sample is first defined via the comparison of experimental and simulated hysteresis loops and magnetoresistive curves of patterned films, prepared by self-assembly of polystyrene nanospheres. Second, a parametric analysis of the dynamic response is performed, investigating how edge, quasi-uniform and localized modes are affected by alterations of the lattice geometry and bias field amplitude. Finally, some results about the possible use of magnetic antidot arrays in frequency-based sensors for magnetic bead detection are presented, highlighting the need for an accurate control of microstructural features.

Reduced graphene oxide nanoshells for flexible and stretchable conductors

Graphene has been extensively investigated for its use in flexible electronics, especially graphene synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). To enhance the flexibility of CVD graphene, wrinkles are often introduced. However, reports on the flexibility of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) films are few, because of their weak conductivity and, in particular, poor flexibility. To improve the flexibility of RGO, reduced graphene oxide nanoshells are fabricated, which combine self-assembled polystyrene nanosphere arrays and high-temperature thermal annealing processes. The resulting RGO films with nanoshells present a better resistance stabilization after stretching and bending the devices than RGO without nanoshells. The sustainability and performance advances demonstrated here are promising for the adoption of flexible electronics in a wide variety of future applications.

Plasmonic chirality of L-shaped nanostructure composed of two slices with different thickness.

A concise method is proposed to fabricate L-shaped Ag nanostructures (LSANs) for generating chirality. Prepared by glancing angle deposition, the LSAN composed of two slices with different thickness is stacked on self-assembled monolayer polystyrene nanosphere arrays by controlling substrate azimuth and deposition time. The strong optical chirality of LSANs is achieved in visible and near-IR regions by measurement. For the circular dichroism spectrum of LSANs, the intensity is enlarged, and its peaks red-shift with increasing thickness difference. When LSANs are stacked on polystyrene spheres of different diameters, enlargement and red-shift are also observed in their circular dichroism spectra with increasing thickness difference. The numerical calculations of finite element method show that the two slices composing LSAN provide cross-electric dipoles and their thickness difference provides phase difference for generating optical chirality. This study not only provides a concise and scalable method for fabricating chiral plasmonic nanostructures but also contributes to understand the knowledge of the mechanism of circular dichroism.

Magnetization reversal and microstructure in polycrystalline Fe50Pd50 dot arrays by self-assembling of polystyrene nanospheres

Nanoscale magnetic materials are the basis of emerging technologies to develop novel magnetoelectronic devices. Self-assembly of polystyrene nanospheres is here used to generate 2D hexagonal dot arrays on Fe50Pd50 thin films. This simple technique allows a wide-area patterning of a magnetic thin film. The role of disorder on functional magnetic properties with respect to conventional lithographic techniques is studied. Structural and magnetic characteristics have been investigated in arrays having different geometry (i.e. dot diameters, inter-dot distances and thickness). The interplay among microstructure and magnetization reversal is discussed. Magnetic measurements reveal a vortex domain configuration in all as-prepared films. The original domain structure changes drastically upon thermal annealing performed to promote the transformation of disordered A1 phase into the ordered, tetragonal L10 phase. First-order reversal magnetization curves have been measured to rule out the role of magnetic interaction among crystalline phases characterized by different magnetic coercivity.

Ni80Fe20 nanodisks by nanosphere lithography for biomedical applications

A novel nanofabrication technique based on self-assembling of polystyrene nanospheres and aimed to obtain magnetic nanodisks suspended in ethanol is here presented. Free-standing Ni80Fe20 disks having lateral dimension around 650 nm and thickness 30 nm were obtained by using nanosphere lithography on a sputtered continuous thin film. The multi-step nanofabrication process will be explained, in detail. The process end-product can be used as suitable magnetic carriers having nearly monodispersed size and simultaneously displaying high saturation magnetization and low-coercivity. Magnetisation reversal has been studied by room-temperature hysteresis loop measurements in either dot arrays attached on a substrate or in liquid-dispersed free-standing nanodisks. In both samples, the reversal is marked by magnetic vortex nucleation/annihilation. Such a behavior is confirmed for Ni80Fe20 dot arrays by measuring magnetic domain configuration, while numerical simulation is used for confirming magnetization reversal process in nanodisks.

Anisotropic magneto-resistance in Ni80Fe20 antidot arrays with different lattice configurations

Ni80Fe20 antidot arrays having different lattice geometrical properties and irregularities were prepared via electron beam lithography and self-assembling of polystyrene nanospheres. All the samples were experimentally characterised by magnetic force microscopy and room-temperature magneto-resistance measurements in different configurations. The analysis, supported by micromagnetic simulations, has been focused on the effect of lattice geometry on the magneto-resistance behaviour of these systems. The detailed investigation through micromagnetic simulations of the magnetic domain configuration as a function of the applied field allows a complete understanding of the qualitative and quantitative difference of anisotropic magneto-resistance properties that have been measured in samples with different lattice geometries and in different measurement configurations.

Improving Light Extraction of Organic Light-Emitting Devices by Attaching Nanostructures with Self-Assembled Photonic Crystal Patterns

A single-monolayered hexagonal self-assembled photonic crystal (PC) pattern fabricated onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films by using simple nanosphere lithography (NSL) method has been demonstrated in this research work. The patterned nanostructures acted as a scattering medium to extract the trapped photons from substrate mode of optical-electronic device for improving the overall external quantum efficiency of the organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). With an optimum latex concentration, the distribution of self-assembled polystyrene (PS) nanosphere patterns on PET films can be easily controlled by adjusting the rotation speed of spin-coater. After attaching the PS nanosphere array brightness enhancement film (BEF) sheet as a photonic crystal pattern onto the device, the luminous intensity of OLEDs in the normal viewing direction is 161% higher than the one without any BEF attachment. The electroluminescent (EL) spectrum of OLEDs with PS patterned BEF attachment also showed minor color offset and superior color stabilization characteristics, and thus it possessed the potential applications in all kinds of display technology and solid-state optical-electronic devices.

Construction of Mono- and Multilayer Colloidal Crystals with Self-Assembled Nanospheres

A new self-assembly method for the fabrication of periodic structures using monodispersed polystyrene nanoparticles matrix was developed. The self-assembly could be formed into polystyrene nanoparticles matrix constructed by the face centered cubic (FCC) structure and hexagonally close-packed (HCP) monolayer. The polystyrene nanoparticles have been prepared by emulsion polymerization. Several aspects were investigated by using different techniques: Particle sizer, TEM and DSC etc. In this study, the feasibility of synthesizing nanoparticles of 550 nm polystyrene with a perfect spherical shape and a narrow size distribution was demonstrated. Subsequently, an investigation of the self-assembly of polystyrene nanospheres to built up an opal structure was performed. This arrangement was achieved by gravitational sedimentation under vacuum. The face centered cubic structure was identified by using SEM, thus that the different facet type {100}, {110} and {111} were composed. The self-assembly of monodispersed polystyrene nanoparticles in 2D structure was fabricated in the structure of hexagonally close-packed monolayer.

Monolayer colloidal mask with tunable interstice size for nanosphere lithography

Nanosphere lithography (NSL), which utilizes self-assembled monolayer colloidal crystal (MCC) as a mask to fabricate ordered nanostructures over large areas, is a high through-put and low-cost method. In this work, polystyrene (PS) MCC with tunable interstice size is prepared by a combination of self-assembly of PS nanospheres at the air–water interface and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of siloxane polymers. Water vapor around the MCC reacts with the silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) steam introduced by nitrogen carrier gas to form siloxane polymers. Consequently, it induces the formation of a siloxane polymers layer coating on the surface of each PS sphere, which results in the shrinkage of the interstice between neighboring PS spheres. In this way, the deformation of colloidal spheres during thermal annealing could be avoided. Accordingly, extra cracks arising from the constraint of spheres deformation on a rigid substrate are eliminated. Furthermore, the interstice size of the colloidal mask can be precisely controlled by manipulating the CVD conditions. In addition, the colloidal mask could be transferred onto any kind of substrates including rigid, flexible, flat, or curved solid substrates after CVD coating. The method provides a facile approach to the fabrication of interstice-size-tunable, high-quality colloidal masks for NSL application.

Spectral properties of self-assembled polystyrene nanospheres photonic crystals doped with luminescent dyes

Three-dimensional ordered photonic crystals have been fabricated on solid substrates with a self-assembling method starting from a suspension of dye-doped polymeric nanospheres in water. These photonic crystals showed angle-dependent stop band for light transmission and, correspondingly, Bragg reflection peak due to the photonic crystal lattice. Polystyrene nanoparticles of 306nm and 288nm diameter, respectively in the case of the Rhodamine B and Fluored dye, were used to obtain self-assembled photonic crystals. They show 40% reflectance at 610nm for Rhodamine B and 35% reflectance at 574nm for Fluored doped materials. The size of the spheres calculated by Bragg’s law are in good agreement with those evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The appropriate choice of sphere diameters results in an overlap between the photonic stop-band and the dye emission spectrum. The photonic crystals showed angle-dependent suppression of spontaneous emission of the dye in the wavelength range of the photonic stop band and enhancement near the band edge. In reflection geometries, spectral narrowing and directional emission, all indicative of stimulated emission, were observed from the active photonic crystal matrix. The results of laser induced emission studies on the dye doped photonic crystals are presented.

Arrays of ordered nanostructures in Fe-Pt thin films by self-assembling of polystyrene nanospheres

Large-area arrays of dots having diameter ranging in the interval 80–400 nm were obtained by polystyrene nanosphere (PN) lithography in L10-FePt thin films. Fe53Pt47 thin films (thickness 10 nm) were epitaxially deposited by rf sputtering on a MgO(100) substrate heated at 400 °C to promote the formation of the L10 tetragonal phase. Patterned films were obtained by assembling PN nanospheres monolayer with starting mean diameter of 100 and 500 nm on a continuous thin film; subsequently, the PNs size has been reduced by reactive ion etching, obtaining a final dots diameter of 80 and 400 nm, respectively. The patterning process resulted to disorder the tetragonal phase therefore reducing the coercive field. A post-annealing at 550 °C for 1 h resulted to be effective in re-inducing the precipitation of the ordered phase. The effect of patterning (i.e., dot diameter and mutual distance) on the magnetic properties is discussed in the light of the presence of the high-anisotropy L10 tetragonal phase, by means of both structural and magnetic characterization techniques.

Dandelion-shaped nanostructures for enhancing omnidirectional photovoltaic performance

Broadband and omnidirectional light harvesting is important in photovoltaic technology because of its wide spectral range of radiation and the sun's movement. This study reports the fabrication and characterization of zinc oxide (ZnO) dandelions on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. The fabrication of dandelions involves the combination of self-assembled polystyrene (PS) nanospheres and the hydrothermal method, which is one of the simplest and cheapest methods of fabricating a three-dimensional, closely packed periodic structure. This study also investigates the optimization on dimension of the PS nanospheres using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method. This study uses an angle-resolved reflectance spectroscope and a homemade rotatable photo I-V measurement to investigate the omnidirectional and broadband antireflections of the proposed dandelion structure. Under a simulated one-sun condition and a light incident angle of up to 60°, cells with ZnO dandelions arrays enhanced the short-circuit current density by 31.87%. Consequently, ZnO dandelions are suitable for creating an omnidirectionally antireflective coating for photovoltaic devices.

Enhanced Light Extraction Efficiency of GaN-Based LEDs With 3-D Colloidal-Photonic-Crystal Bottom Reflector

In this letter, self-assembled polystyrene nano-spheres with a diameter of 193 nm were used to fabricate the 3-D colloidal-photonic-crystal (CPC) bottom reflector for blue GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Experimentally, the key point is the hydrophilic treatment of substrate and immediately to disperse the suspension into the substrate at 30 °C. The equilibrium between the particle transport and crystallization in the aqueous solution helps CPCs to form a faced-centered-cubic phase when the solution temperature decreases. This will lead to the improvement of reflectivity due to reduced defects, such as dislocations and vacancies, in the CPCs. The light output intensity of the LEDs fabricated with a well-controlled 3-D-CPC bottom reflector increases by 219% compared to that of conventional LEDs without it.