Fast, High-Throughput Creation of Size-Tunable Micro/Nanoparticle Clusters via Evaporative Self-Assembly in Picoliter-Scale Droplets of Particle Suspension

We report a fast, high-throughput method to create size-tunable micro/nanoparticle clusters via evaporative assembly in picoliter-scale droplets of particle suspension. Mediated by gravity force and surface tension force of a contacting surface, picoliter-scale droplets of the suspension are generated from a nanofabricated printing head. Rapid evaporative self-assembly of the particles on a hydrophobic surface leads to fast clustering of micro/nanoparticles and forms particle clusters of tunable sizes and controlled spacing. The evaporating behavior of the droplet is observed in real-time, and the clustering characteristics of the particles are understood based on the physics of evaporative assembly With this method, multiplex printing of various particle clusters with accurate positioning and alignment are demonstrated Also, size-unifomity of the cluster arrays is thoroughly analyzed by examining the metallic nanoparticle cluster-arrays based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).