Author : Nikhil Sharma
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 42,22 MB
Release : 2010
Category :
ISBN : 9781124241319
The use of soft matter to direct the organization of hard materials into functional geometries has been a paradigm inspired by nature. Polymer based systems can be engineered to reproducibly adopt nano-scale architectures. Designing interactions between such polymer templates and inorganic nanoparticles gives rise to nano-scale hybrid materials that may be deployable in applications ranging from magnetism to optoelectronics and lasing. In particular, hybrid one dimensional nanostructures exhibit a strong anisotropy in their physical properties. This anisotropy may be utilized for applications that require a directional transfer of signals or an orientation dependent physical response. The construction of one dimensional nanoparticle arrays via polymer based templates is detailed. Nano-scale arrays have been created using self-assembling peptide templates. Peptides adopt secondary and higher order hierarchical conformations in solution. The ability to engineer different types of functionality at precise locations in the assembled architecture presents possibilities of patterning matter at length scales inaccessible by lithographic techniques. Micro-scale particle arrays have been constructed via electrospinning, an electric-field assisted solution spinning technique. Correlations between the structural morphology and the optical behavior of these polymer-particle hybrid arrays have been investigated. Magnetic nanoparticle arrays displaying orientation dependent magnetic behavior have been constructed by coaxial electrospinning.