From supramolecular chemistry to nanotechnology: assembly of 3D nanostructures

Fabricating well-defined and stable nanoparticle arrays and crystals in a controlled fashion receives growing attention in nanotechnology owing to the potential application in optoelectronic devices, biological sensors, and photonic structures. The research described in this thesis aims to construct stable, ordered and functional 2D and 3D nanoparticle structures. Molecular recognition abilities have been exploited by using a combination of supramolecularly directed self-assembly of receptor-functionalized nanoparticles and top-down nanofabrication techniques. Noncovalent host-guest nanoparticle assembly is highly versatile. It involves specific multivalent interactions, in which the nanoparticle-surface or the inter-particle binding strength can be fine-tuned by introducing competitive interactions. The additional advantage is the possibility for error correction. Host or guest molecules are attached to the surface of the nanoparticles to control the assembly of functionalized nanoparticles to self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) via specific host-guest interactions in a layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly methodology. Top-down nanofabrication schemes were combined with supramolecular nanoparticle assembly to form stable and ordered nanoparticle architectures on surfaces, other interfaces, and as free-standing structures.