Abstract
Self-assembly can happen to particles at all length scales, including atomic, nano-, meso- and macro-particles. Although widely used in nanoresearch, many nano-structures reported in the literature are not self-assembled, posing some fundamental questions. This paper will briefly review this topic, answering the following questions: what is the current status in self-assembling nanoparticles? Why is it so difficult to produce self-assembled structures of nanoparticles? How can we effectively overcome the difficulty? The important role of controlling forces of various types in relation to different self-assembly techniques is discussed. Self-assembly is demonstrated as a complex problem that still needs intensive multi-scaled studies.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 16797-16805 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Materials Chemistry |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 42 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Keywords
- nanostructures
- particles
- self-assembly (chemistry)