2D Plasmonic Molecules via Hydrogen Bond Interaction between Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles

The use of macromolecular design features to regulate non-covalent bonding on the nanoscale is a young and emerging fabrication strategy for advanced nanostructures. For the first time, we describe a self-assembly method to create a series of 2D plasmonic molecules (PMs) using hydrogen-bond interaction between a pair of polymer-capped gold nanoparticles (hydrogen-bond donor and acceptor). Due to the nature of hydrogen-bond interaction, we found that polymer interaction and solvation compete with each other during the self-assembly process, which turns out to be the most important condition for controlling the coordination number of PMs. We have conducted an extensive study on the solvent effect, which has helped us to design and fabricate a series of precise PMs with high symmetry. A series of highly symmetric 2D plasmonic molecules were assembled through hydrogen-bond interaction between a pair of polymer-capped gold nanoparticles (donor and acceptor). Polymer interaction and solvation were found to compete with each other during the colloidal self-assembly process, which can be used to precisely control the coordination number. The nanostructures rearrange themselves from 3D to 2D when being cast onto a substrate.image

Automated summary

The use of macromolecular design features to regulate non-covalent bonding on the nanoscale is a promising fabrication strategy for advanced nanostructures. In this study, we successfully created a series of 2D plasmonic molecules (PMs) through self-assembly using hydrogen-bond interaction between polymer-capped gold nanoparticles. The competition between polymer interaction and solvation during the self-assembly process was found to be crucial for controlling the coordination number of PMs.