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Free-standing nanoparticle superlattice sheets controlled by DNA

Nature Materials volume 8, pages 519–525 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Free-standing nanoparticle superlattices (suspended highly ordered nanoparticle arrays) are ideal for designing metamaterials and nanodevices free of substrate-induced electromagnetic interference. Here, we report on the first DNA-based route towards monolayered free-standing nanoparticle superlattices. In an unconventional way, DNA was used as a ‘dry ligand’ in a microhole-confined, drying-mediated self-assembly process. Without the requirement of specific Watson–Crick base-pairing, we obtained discrete, free-standing superlattice sheets in which both structure (inter-particle spacings) and functional properties (plasmonic and mechanical) can be rationally controlled by adjusting DNA length. In particular, the edge-to-edge inter-particle spacing for monolayered superlattice sheets can be tuned up to 20 nm, which is a much wider range than has been achieved with alkyl molecular ligands. Our method opens a simple yet efficient avenue towards the assembly of artificial nanoparticle solids in their ultimate thickness limit—a promising step that may enable the integration of free-standing superlattices into solid-state nanodevices.

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Figure 1: Schematic diagram of fabrication of free-standing nanoparticle superlattice sheets.
Figure 2: Characterization of free-standing nanoparticle superlattice sheets.
Figure 3: Crumpled, nanoparticle superlattice sheet.
Figure 4: DNA regulation of the inter-particle spacing in fully attached and partially attached sheets.
Figure 5: DNA corona deformation in nanoparticle superlattices.
Figure 6: DNA-regulated plasmon coupling and mechanical properties of free-standing, monolayered nanoparticle superlattice sheets.

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Acknowledgements

This work is partially supported by NYSTAR and the NSF CAREER award (grant number: 0547330). We acknowledge the use of the facilities of the Cornell Centre for Materials Research, which is supported through NSF Grant DMR 0520404, part of the NSF MRSEC Program. D.A.M. and J.J.C. acknowledge financial support from IRG-1 of NSF-MRSEC (CCMR). S.J.T. is a recipient of the National Science Scholarship awarded by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore (A-STAR). We also acknowledge L. Ding, M. Hartman, C. Y. Hui, J. Kahn, J. C. March and N. Park for their critical reading of our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 226 Riley Robb, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

    Wenlong Cheng, Michael J. Campolongo, Shawn J. Tan & Dan Luo

  2. Applied & Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA

    Judy J. Cha & David A. Muller

  3. Materials Science & Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

    Christopher C. Umbach

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  1. Wenlong Cheng
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Contributions

W.L.C. and D.L. conceived and designed the experiments. W.L.C., M.C., J.C and S.T. carried out the experiments. W.L.C., M.C., S.T, C.U., D.M. and D.L. analysed the data and discussed the results. W.L.C., M.C., S.T. and D.L. co-wrote the paper. All authors commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dan Luo.

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Cheng, W., Campolongo, M., Cha, J. et al. Free-standing nanoparticle superlattice sheets controlled by DNA. Nature Mater 8, 519–525 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2440

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