Self-assembly of particles : some thoughts and comments

X. C. Jiang, Q. H. Zeng, C. Y. Chen, A. B. Yu

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    48 Citations (Scopus)

    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 languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)16797-16805
    Number of pages9
    JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry
    Volume21
    Issue number42
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

    Keywords

    • nanostructures
    • particles
    • self-assembly (chemistry)

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