Drying-mediated hierarchical self-assembly of nanoparticles: A dynamical coarse-grained approach

A coarse-grained lattice gas model is developed to study the drying-mediated self-assembly of nanoparticles on diblock copolymer substrates. The model describes the nanoparticles, the solvent and the diblock copolymer on length scales that are typical to the solvent bulk correlation length. Monte Carlo simulation techniques are used to delineate the various mechanisms of this out-of-equilibrium hierarchical self-assembly. Several different assembly scenarios corresponding to different selectivity of the nanoparticles/liquid/substrate are discussed. The role of surface tension, evaporation rate, diffusion rate, nanoparticle, coverage, and diblock copolymer periodicity is explored. Optimal conditions to form a stripe phase of nanoparticles along with predictions of novel 3D structures resulting from high nanoparticle and solvent selectivity are described.