Polyacrylic Acid-Induced Self-Assembly of CdSe Nanoparticles into a Two-Dimensional Crystal: Experiment and Theory

Under the depletion effect of poly(acrylic acid) chains, CdSe nanoparticles coated with oleic add ligand aggregated into clusters and self-assembled into an ordered two-dimensional hexagon-shaped array on the surface of-a carbon film, Such behavior was also reproduced via dynamic density functional theory. Given the same condition, the aggregation enhancement of nanoparticles on the substrate arid the ratio of hexagonal side length to vertex size in a crystal cell are similar in both experimental, and. theoretical sections, suggesting a reasonable interpretation of the mechanism of the disorder-to-order tranSition. Thereafter, the theoretical predictions reveal the range of spontaneous self-assembly, which can be directed, enhanced, or controlled by changing either nanopartide size Or interactions among nanoparticles, poly(acrylic add), and substrate.