Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly: Functional Nanostructures Made Easy

The following article is an edited transcript based on the MRS Medalist presentation given by C. Jeffrey Brinker (Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico) on December 3, 2003, at the Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston. Brinker received the Medal for "his pioneering application of principles of sol-gel chemistry to the self-assembly of functional nanoscale materials." Nature combines hard and soft materials, often in hierarchical architectures, to obtain synergistic, optimized properties with proven, complex functionalities. Emulating natural designs in robust engineering materials using efficient processing approaches represents a fundamental challenge to materials chemists. This presentation reviews progress on understanding so-called evaporation-induced silica/surfactant self-assembly (EISA) as a simple, general means of preparing porous thin-film nanostructures. Such porous materials are of interest for membranes, low-dielectric-constant (low-k) insulators, and even "'nano-valves" that open and close in response to an external stimulus. EISA can also be used to simultaneously organize hydrophilic and hydrophobic precursors into hybrid nanocomposites that are optically or chemically polymerizable, patternable, or adjustable.

[1]  Ying-Bing Jiang,et al.  Photoresponsive nanocomposite formed by self-assembly of an azobenzene-modified silane. , 2003, Angewandte Chemie.

[2]  C. Brinker,et al.  Continuous self-assembly of organic–inorganic nanocomposite coatings that mimic nacre , 1998, Nature.

[3]  Cherie R. Kagan,et al.  Self-Organization of CdSe Nanocrystallites into Three-Dimensional Quantum Dot Superlattices , 1995, Science.

[4]  Mark A. Rodriguez,et al.  Synthesis and crystallographic structure of a novel photoresponsive azobenzene-containing organosilane. , 2003, Chemical communications.

[5]  G. Kumar,et al.  Photochemistry of azobenzene-containing polymers , 1989 .

[6]  J. B. Higgins,et al.  A new family of mesoporous molecular sieves prepared with liquid crystal templates , 1992 .

[7]  C. Brinker,et al.  Evaporation-Controlled Self-Assembly of Silica Surfactant Mesophases , 2003 .

[8]  B. G. Potter,et al.  Optically defined multifunctional patterning of photosensitive thin-film silica mesophases. , 2000, Science.

[9]  Robin H. Liu,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of hydrogel-based microvalves , 2002 .

[10]  Yunfeng Lu,et al.  Aerosol-assisted self-assembly of mesostructured spherical nanoparticles , 1999, Nature.

[11]  Masahiro Fujiwara,et al.  Photocontrolled reversible release of guest molecules from coumarin-modified mesoporous silica , 2003, Nature.

[12]  Lisa M. Siewierski,et al.  Photoresponsive Monolayers Containing In-Chain Azobenzene , 1996 .

[13]  D. Beebe,et al.  Responsive biomimetic hydrogel valve for microfluidics , 2001 .

[14]  T. Okano,et al.  Comb-type grafted hydrogels with rapid deswelling response to temperature changes , 1995, Nature.

[15]  J. S. Beck,et al.  Ordered mesoporous molecular sieves synthesized by a liquid-crystal template mechanism , 1992, Nature.

[16]  R L Sandstrom,et al.  Spin-dependent tunneling in self-assembled cobalt-nanocrystal superlattices. , 2000, Science.

[17]  Sun,et al.  Monodisperse FePt nanoparticles and ferromagnetic FePt nanocrystal superlattices , 2000, Science.

[18]  Yunfeng Lu,et al.  Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly: Nanostructures Made Easy** , 1999 .

[19]  C. Brinker,et al.  Self-assembly of mesoscopically ordered chromatic polydiacetylene/silica nanocomposites , 2001, Nature.

[20]  C. Brinker,et al.  Self-assembly of an environmentally responsive polymer/silica nanocomposite. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[21]  Robin H. Liu,et al.  Functional hydrogel structures for autonomous flow control inside microfluidic channels , 2000, Nature.

[22]  J. G. Victor,et al.  On measuring the distribution of local free volume in glassy polymers by photochromic and fluorescence techniques , 1987 .

[23]  C. Brinker,et al.  Sol-Gel Science: The Physics and Chemistry of Sol-Gel Processing , 1990 .

[24]  C. Brinker,et al.  Functional nanocomposites prepared by self-assembly and polymerization of diacetylene surfactants and silicic acid. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[25]  J. Storhoff,et al.  A DNA-based method for rationally assembling nanoparticles into macroscopic materials , 1996, Nature.

[26]  Middleton,et al.  Collective transport in arrays of small metallic dots. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[27]  J. Rabek,et al.  Photochemistry and photophysics , 1990 .

[28]  Toyoichi Tanaka,et al.  Saccharide-sensitive phase transition of a lectin-loaded gel , 1991, Nature.

[29]  P. Schultz,et al.  Organization of 'nanocrystal molecules' using DNA , 1996, Nature.

[30]  C. Brinker,et al.  Self-Assembly of Ordered, Robust, Three-Dimensional Gold Nanocrystal/Silica Arrays , 2004, Science.

[31]  Michel Devoret,et al.  Single Charge Tunneling , 1992 .

[32]  Y. Bae,et al.  Electrically credible polymer gel for controlled release of drugs , 1991, Nature.

[33]  Toyoichi Tanaka,et al.  Collapse of Gels in an Electric Field , 1982, Science.

[34]  T. Okano,et al.  Totally Synthetic Polymer Gels Responding to External Glucose Concentration: Their Preparation and Application to On−Off Regulation of Insulin Release , 1998 .

[35]  Clarke,et al.  Scaling behavior in the current-voltage characteristic of one- and two-dimensional arrays of small metallic islands. , 1995, Physical review letters.

[36]  C Jeffrey Brinker,et al.  Peering into the self-assembly of surfactant templated thin-film silica mesophases. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[37]  Plamen Atanassov,et al.  Photoregulation of Mass Transport through a Photoresponsive Azobenzene-Modified Nanoporous Membrane , 2004 .

[38]  T. Ikeda,et al.  Photoisomerization of an azobenzene in sol-gel glass films , 1992 .

[39]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Self-Assembly at All Scales , 2002, Science.

[40]  Takashi Miyata,et al.  A reversibly antigen-responsive hydrogel , 1999, Nature.

[41]  J. Israelachvili.  Intermolecular and surface forces , 1985 .

[42]  C. Brinker,et al.  In-Situ X-ray Scattering Study of Continuous Silica−Surfactant Self-Assembly during Steady-State Dip Coating , 2002 .

[43]  Bruce Dunn,et al.  Continuous formation of supported cubic and hexagonal mesoporous films by sol–gel dip-coating , 1997, Nature.

[44]  K. Kuroda,et al.  Aluminium-containing mesoporous silica films as nano-vessels for organic photochemical reactions , 2000 .

[45]  Yunfeng Lu,et al.  Rapid prototyping of patterned functional nanostructures , 2000, Nature.